Red and Black
by xXCharlieXx
Summary: BtvSHP - After the events that took place in Sunnydale and in England, two worlds will be united for one cause...and a witch must face her darkest fear.
1. Called to Help

**Red and Black** A BtvS/HP Crossover By Charlotte Clemo 

_This is an idea I had one evening whilst thinking about the 6th book. Set after 'Chosen' and after the 'OotP' Enjoy! - Charlie_

_Disclaimer - I don't own anything relating to Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I don't own anything relating to Harry Potter._

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**Chapter 1**

**Called to Help**

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**_He paced the room, once or twice glancing at the phone. A month had gone by and he had only thought of this now? He sighed as he remembered that fateful day, and remembered the look on his face as he fell back through that tattered cloth in the Department of Mysteries. He could even remember his own words, which now seemed almost ridiculous. Could he do this…? It was then that he remembered the look on Harry's face as he restrained him. Without another thought he hastily picked up the receiver and dialled the number._**

Buffy Summers was asleep. Or at least, somewhere in between asleep and awake. She wasn't sure. The word she had settled for was dozing. She was 'dozing' on the bed in the small motel room she shared with Dawn and Willow. A month had passed since she and her comrades had defeated the First Evil, and made the place she had once called home into well, pretty much a hole in the ground. Lazily opening one eye, she glanced at the clock. 1:30 in the afternoon. They would all have to make a move soon. She and what was left of the group were slowly making their way to Cleveland, where Giles had talked of another Hellmouth full of more Hellmouth-y goodness. Groaning inwardly, she got up and stumbled over to where Dawn lay on the opposite bed.

"Wha-?" mumbled the sleepy teen as Buffy shook her gently, "Oh, Buffy?" With a quick glance around to refresh her memory, Dawn sighed and sat up stretching. Silently, the two young women gathered their few possessions, which were scattered around the room. Suddenly, Buffy's cell phone, which had almost been forgotten on the bedside locker, gave a sharp 'beep' as it burst into a rousing rendition of 'Girl's Just Wanna have Fun'. Buffy grabbed it and answered.

"Hello?"

"Buffy?" came the slightly muffled yet clearly recognizable English reply.

"Giles!" cried Buffy with a smile, "How are things in sunny old…Bath?"

Giles had left for England almost two weeks ago to gather 'things' which he thought may prove useful once they reached Cleveland. Buffy had a sneaky suspicion that these things were more books.

"F-fine… well not really sunny, but very nice still..." trailed off an obviously confused Giles.

"Great! Well…erm…do you need any help or anything? Or are you calling to check in, cause we are fine, you know…just peachy…" Buffy babbled, motioning to Dawn that she should go on ahead.

"Actually Buffy…" he interrupted, "I needed to talk to…to Willow."

Willow Rosenberg stood outside the 'Lay-Z-Nite's' Motel doing a final head count.

"OK! Sooooo we have…Andrew?"

"Here!" chirped the man with a quick raise of his hand and a somewhat innocent smile. Shaking her head in exasperation at his childishness, Willow continued…

"Rhona?" she called out.

"No," Dawn called as she stepped outside blinking in the sunlight, "She left yesterday remember?"

Willow did. So that meant that all of the potentials, well, slayers now, had left them, except Kennedy. She didn't really blame them. All of them had wanted to go out into the world and do their duty, and live a vaguely normal life. Not stay under the command of Buffy. But Kennedy had stayed with Willow and the others to carry on going to Cleveland. Willow was glad that her new girlfriend was so loyal, but it was slightly worrying. All Kennedy's friends had gone…would she leave soon too? As she thought this, the person in question stepped out behind Dawn.

"Jesus it's hot!" she said as she walked towards Willow with a smile.

"Just like you!" Willow smiled back, then laughed, "OK…cheesy moment there…"

Kennedy just laughed and continued walking towards the school bus, still their only mode of transportation, parked a few metres away. Dawn followed and also climbed aboard.

"Where's Xander?" Willow asked Andrew as he stepped towards the bus.

"Oh, he went to find Faith and Wood." He replied and climbed aboard taking a seat at the front and pulling out a candy bar. As if on cue, Xander, Faith and Principal Wood appeared from the hotel entrance.

"Willow!" called Wood, "We got…" he paused and held up a handful of chocolate, "freebies!"

"Yeah!" Faith sang after him with a grin, "Mini-bar goodies for the road! I got all the alcohol!"

"And I got towels and shampoo and soap," said Xander with a sheepish smile, "not nearly as delicious but just as necessary!"

"And just how did you pay for them?" asked Willow, a note of worry in her voice. Faith winked as she walked past.

"Five finger discount…" and she and Wood headed for the bus. Since the 'final battle' as it was referred to, the pair had been quite close, and Willow often wondered if the rogue slayer had met her match. Xander sighed and dumped his bundle of 'goodies' next to the three small suitcases that needed loading up.

"Right, I'll put these on and then we're off. Where's Buffy?" he asked looking around.

"She's coming," said Willow, "She's probably paying up."

Xander frowned, and shook his head.

"No…Wood and I payed about ten minutes ago…"

Buffy stepped out into the dusty parking lot and looked around for her friends. Spotting them by the bus she ran over, the cell phone still in her hand.

"Willow!" She called. The redhead looked up. "Phone!"

Willow took the phone with a puzzled look and nervously said…"Hello?"

"Giles!" She cried with a fresh smile and she wandered off to take the call. Xander turned to Buffy for an explanation.

"Change of plan…" Buffy said calmly, a glint of command in her eyes, "We're going to Europe…"


	2. Decisions Decisions

**Chapter 2**

**Decisions Decisions**

"I don't get it," said Dawn for at least the fifth time, "They want Willow to what?"

"They need her to bring someone back…like she did with me." Buffy explained to the rest of the people on the bus. Willow sat glumly in the corner, averting her eyes. They were still in the parking lot of the motel. They were discussing what was going to happen. Everything was different now.

Faith looked puzzled.

"But why? I'm with Dawn here…I'm still confused," she turned to Wood on her left, "Are you confused?"

Wood shrugged and looked at Buffy. "Explain to us again. What's going on?"

Buffy took a deep breath and began again.

"Giles just called me. He needed to talk to Willow. He said he got a call from a friend, from his Ripper days, a guy called…erm…" she paused for thought "…Remus I think. Remus just lost a friend, and Giles must have known the guy. He said it was vital that this man was brought back. For someone else's sake. He says there is a lot to explain about a boy, and this war he mentioned, but it barrels down to Willow. They need her help."

Buffy stopped and glanced at Willow. Willow remained motionless, studying the pattern on the seat, determined not to glance at anyone. Since she had received the call from Giles, she felt…well…she didn't know how to feel. When she had brought Buffy back from the dead she had been chastised…and now Giles himself wanted her to bring back someone else?

"Willow…please…this boy…his name is Harry Potter…he lost his god father and at this time he needs him there to fight a huge battle…he cannot do it alone…"

And then there was the sickening thought that if she did this, there may be a repeat of the last time she used magic that…that intense…something might go wrong. And what if she got addicted again? She couldn't go through what she had been through again. Willow looked up at Buffy again and her eyes met an equally unsure Buffy's.

"Will…" Buffy asked uncertainly, "Are…are you ok?"

"I-I don't know…" she trailed off. Just looking at Buffy she sensed that the slayer had picked up all her worries. A thick silence fell over the company. After a few minutes Xander spoke up.

"Well we should get moving…head on to the next airport…and...well…yeah…" and he headed over to the driving seat and revved up the engine setting the vehicle in motion. They drove on for at least an hour. The silence thinned a bit but not much was said on the situation. Until Andrew…who had been sat frowning for the time, piped up the question bubbling around most people's heads…

"How did he die?"

"Andrew!" spat Dawn in disgust, "Don't be so…so you…"

"Hey! Hey!" the nerd replied defensively, "I just wondered…"

Willow looked at him.

"I…we don't know." She finished.

And the silence fell thickly over them again.

They drove for a lot of the day and stopped on the side of the road for the night, unable to find another motel to stay in. There was an aura of unrest in the gang, and Buffy sat around the back of the bus gazing. She watched as Dawn, Andrew, Xander and Kennedy sat around a small campfire a little off to the left. Faith and Wood stood separate to them, conversing to themselves, the occasional nod coming from both of them. Willow remained alone in the bus with her thoughts. Buffy remembered what they had been through, what they had lost…and contemplated what was to come. It was all so much and there was more? She was still recovering from losing Anya and Spike…and now another battle faced them. It was an exhausting prospect.

After a few minutes, Faith appeared beside next to her.

"B…can we talk?"

"Sure." said Buffy, uncurling herself and standing up stiffly. She walked quickly around to the front of the bus and looked at Faith expectantly.

"What's up?"

Faith sighed, worried her lip a little and began.

"Buffy…Robin and I have been talkin' and…and it's not like we wanna leave…but…we don't wanna travel all the way to England…we wanna go on to Cleveland. Start a new life and not get involved in anyone else's. Do the whole save the world thing there…sort out the new slayers. I…I don't want you to think we're abandoning you but…we thought we should go our own way…you get what I mean?"

The darker slayer stared solidly at Buffy, tilted her head, waiting for a response, still worrying her lip slightly.

Buffy had half expected this but now it was actually being asked and not just run through her brain, the response she had prepared seemed weird.

"No, of course…I understand," she replied smiling, " You do that. This isn't your problem. We'll leave you guys the bus when we get to…wherever, and you go on."

Faith grinned and nodded.

"Thanks B! We were kinda worried…" she smiled again and turned to leave, but turned back again. "Thanks Buffy…we'll…we'll try as best we can to live up to you…and what you've done." Then she turned and hurried back to the others who all stood laughing around the fire.

Buffy watched her go. She felt torn. She was sad that Faith would be leaving when they had just began to get on better than they had before…and Robin Wood was a nifty guy to have around, but she understood where they were coming from. And it was also a relief to have two less people to worry about. She sighed and headed back around to the door of the vehicle. She and Willow needed to talk.

Willow sat alone, still pondering the prospect of the task ahead of her; and the journey they had yet to travel. She looked up as Buffy came in.

"Hey…"

"Hey…" Buffy smiled and sat down on a seat a little away from her.

"You ok Will?" asked the slayer; knowing the answer before it came.

"No." Willow said honestly with a huge sigh. She turned to look at her friend. "I mean…you get why I think this is so tough right?"

Buffy nodded and sighed too. Then she looked at Willow.

"Willow…can I just say? Remember why you brought me back? You…you needed me…and I'm oh so grateful and that…but…think…Harry needs this guy…just like we need each other…" she paused, thinking the rest through before continuing.

"…And so…maybe…I don't know…" she looked away unsure what else to say, then turned back to Willow.

Willow's eyes continued to stare at her, now full of understanding. Then she smiled slightly.

"You're right Buffy. We need each other, and so…you'll help me with this?"

"Of course!"

Willow smiled wider and genuine.

"Let's do this…"

Spike turned and regarded the man next to him. It wasn't hard. He was a contrast to the garish glaring white background that endlessly surrounded them. The man turned and looked at Spike, a slightly puzzled look playing on his once handsome features.

"I'm dead aren't I?" he asked with a small amount of amusement in his deep tone of voice.

"Yeah. You are mate…sorry?" Spike shrugged awkwardly and looked away hastily. He'd seen many pass through here and break down at this news before disappearing to god knows where. But Spike always remained. And it was hell. But instead of disappearing, the man stayed…and merely laughed with obvious bitterness.

"Brilliant…" he muttered and then sighed, "Any idea where we are?"

"Hell?" tried Spike.

The man laughed once again. Then held out his hand in greeting.

"Sirius Black…"


	3. Departures and Arrivals

**Chapter 3**

**Departures and Arrivals**

Harry sat alone on his bed, in his room in Grimmauld Place. His new home. A home…he finally had one. With one thing missing. A family. And the thudding gaping ache that he was sure was hole in his heart where Sirius had once been was a constant reminder of that. He wiped his eyes quickly with his sleeve self-consciously. He had no idea why he had decided to come here. The Order was still using it as headquarters and he had thought that the company of those he knew would help him through this difficult time. He was very wrong. Seeing Ron, Hermione and the others just made him feel worse. Most people were nice to him, others just downright ignoring him, offering him a sympathetic smile now and then…that was mainly the adults. But some people's behaviour was downright weird. For instance, he had caught Tonks and Mrs. Weasley preparing beds in some of the cleaner rooms as if guests were to arrive. When he questioned them about it, Mrs. Weasley had gotten very flustered.

_"It's just in case dear, gives us something to do…"_

Yeah right. Just another way to avoid him. To avoid what was going on. What bothered Harry the most though was Remus Lupin's behaviour. Harry had expected him to, well…be a bit friendlier? The man had hardly spoken a word to him since the train station.

"It's just his way of grieving Harry…remember he lost his best friend too…?" Hermione had said wisely when Harry had mentioned it to her.

"Yeah Harry…" agreed a worried looking Ron, "And come on mate…" he looked awkward and looked to Hermione for back up. Much as he cared for them both they were pretty useless. They had recovered well from the whole Department of Mysteries fandasco…although Ron had a tendency to stare into space a lot more often without realising it, which Harry found a bit disturbing…especially when Ron stared at him, as was often the case.

With all his thoughts swirling around his head, he didn't even notice Remus standing at the doorway; head tilted slightly, a worried look on his face. The face was too old for it's owner.

"Harry?" he asked, his voice slightly hoarse.

Harry's head snapped up. Slightly surprised and off guard when he saw who it was, all Harry could do was stare. Lupin looked very tired and pale, which wasn't unusual due to his lycanthropy, but the full moon had been two weeks ago, and so Harry wondered what the matter was.

"Yeah?" Harry asked, perhaps a little aggressively. Lupin remained at the door unflinching.

"Harry…" the man trailed off and looked away sighing. He turned and looked directly at Harry. He stepped forward and walked over to the bed, perching himself on the edge. Harry was still very shocked not only by his presence but by this very apparently 'friendly' gesture. The first of the Summer so far. He still remained fixed on Harry, the perturbed expression now deepening.

"Harry there is something I need to tell you…"

* * *

"You can't do this to me! Plea-"

"Willow please listen to me…please!! I don't want to but…I…I can't go to England…I just can't…" Kennedy explained, tears overflowing onto her tanned cheeks, "This is where I belong…"

The tears spilled from Willow's eyes. They were about to board the plane…and Kennedy had announced she wasn't willing to come. They had arrived at the nearest airport, where Giles had explained that tickets for all of them were booked onto many flights to London, so all they had to do was collect the tickets, check in with the little baggage which contained what remained of their possessions and find a flight. Faith and Wood had said their goodbye's and promised to watch their plane leave.

"Kennedy, please just…"

"No Willow I can't. I love you but…I want to stay here…and I have the new slayer thing…please…understand."

Willow had no time to answer. Kennedy leaned forward and kissed her passionately before picking up her small bag and running back towards where Faith and Wood stood now looking confused. Xander stood awkwardly at the gate.

"Will…come on…" he gently took her arm and led her onto the plane, her sobs echoing around the terminal. And they were gone.

After a tedious flight to London, with Willows futile snuffles heard for hours, and Andrews constant whine ("Are we there yet?"), Buffy and Xander were at their wits end. Upon stepping into the terminal in Heathrow Airport, they faced a new problem.

"Wait…" Xander spoke up, "How do we know who's coming to get us?"

However, the answer to this question was plainly obvious, as the gang saw a very odd looking man walking, or rather limping their way. From the underneath of his pinstripe trouser suit, a wooden claw protruded, and most of his face was covered with a large bowler hat. Only straggly bits of hair wisped about near his chin. The five of them stared as a gruff voice spoke out…

"You must be the Americans?" Buffy nodded. The man smiled sardonically, "Welcome to England! I'm Alastor Moody…" and he held out a gnarled hand and looked up to them. Dawn shrieked slightly. If his face could have told a story no doubt it would have been full of great battles, scars etched across his face from past fights almost like a map, and a chunk of his nose was missing. One of his eyes was larger than the other and a sparkling blue…and it was whirling around in its socket regarding the group. Upon Dawn's reaction, he laughed roughly and grinned. Almost as quickly as his eye span around, his smile turned upside down into an almost grimace.

"Which one of you is Willow Rosenberg?" he asked. Willow, still rather red-eyed, stepped forward slightly. Moody nodded slightly and his gaze softened if that was even possible.

"Well this way then, we've got a…" his face wrinkled as he thought, "...a car, that's the one…a car ready." Moody turned on his wooden leg and began to hobble off towards the exit, Dawn and Andrew following him quickly. For what appeared to be an old man, he was incredibly speedy. Buffy, Xander and Willow glanced at each other dubiously. Without a word, they followed him.

They drove silently through the streets of London, where the sun was just rising. Their driver, a red headed man (which amused Willow only slightly) with hair long enough to match her own, only glanced once over the gang, before muttering to Moody and then remaining silent as he drove them to their destination. Willow could feel her eyes drooping, but the thought of what was to come, and the thought of Kennedy kept her awake. It was to remain a mystery to her why he lover had run away so suddenly. She supposed it was because she was afraid. And this only instilled the fear in Willow further. After about half an hours driving, the car stopped at the mouth of a street. A little way beyond the street, they could see a dirty and unkempt square, where litter lined the roads, and grimy houses stood forebodingly, their windows like eyes watching. Xander's brow furrowed. Andrew's nose wrinkled. Moody led them through to an unusual space between two houses as their chauffer drove off to park the car. Houses eleven and thirteen guarded the empty space like soldiers standing to attention, and Buffy wondered curiously where they were to meet with the mysterious Harry Potter. Moody took a slip of parchment from his pocket and read aloud…

"_The Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix may be found at number twelve, Grimmauld Place, London."_

To the scoobies amazement, a house slowly appeared in between eleven and thirteen. Door first, followed by grimywalls and windows. If any house was more forbidding, it was this one. Moody quickly stepped up to the door and rang the bell, but all of the group jumped as Moody immediately cried out in desperation, his palm flying to his face, and he winced. The door slowly opened to the sound of screams…

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_AN: I'm sorry if I got the description of Moody wrong at all, but I couldn't find my copy of GoF so if there is any problem I'll try to amend it ASAP._


	4. Many Meetings

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_First off I'd like to thank my first reviewers SapphireOrchids and __Eden's Echo. Your comments are much appreciated and encouraged me to write more! Thank you!_

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**Chapter 4**

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**Many Meetings**

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"Shut her up will you!"

A young voice floated out of the doorway and Buffy had to rub her eyes to make sure she wasn't seeing things. Two identical young men, both with hair as bright as fire stood in the doorway, and in the background a figure rushed over and frantically moved something in an attempt to make whatever it was that was screaming, stop. Moody hurried on inside with the five bewildered Scoobies in tow. Once inside the strange house, they surveyed their surroundings. Moody limped off down the corridor and headed off into a mystery room. As the door slammed, the noise echoed around them, drowned out by the racket coming from a small space in the wall. Willow had no doubt in her mind that this was this was the house of Harry's dead godfather. It was like the whole house was in mourning. The hallway was dimly lit with the soft and spooky blue glow of old gas lamps, which cast shadows into corners. She could faintly see a few old portraits hung randomly on the walls. The house smelt reasonably clean, like someone had scrubbed hard at the interior to remove an offending stain, but the old musky odour of a building that hadn't been used in a while still lingered. This however, did not hold her attention for long, as all eyes were instantly drawn to the source of the horrendous wailing. A pair of flailing old curtains was caught in an invisible storm, and after a few seconds, the man succeeded in pulling them closed, and the noise ceased.

"Hello!" chirped one of the redheaded boys holding out a hand in greeting, and Willow was vaguely reminded of their driver, "I'm Fred Weasley!"

"And I'm George!" exclaimed the other, following suit and grasping hold of Dawn's hand and shaking it heartily. Xander cocked an eyebrow.

"Twins?" he asked slightly amused. The Weasley brothers nodded.

Smiling, Dawn spoke up.

"I'm Dawn Summers, this is my sister Buffy," she motioned to the still slightly shocked slayer who waved, "and that's Xander Harris, this Andrew…er..."

Andrew looked a little offended.

"And Willow Rosenberg…" Dawn trailed off as she saw Willow's expression. The Wiccan was staring fixedly at the man who had shut the curtains. He stood slightly behind Fred and George, his eyes peering at them through the gloom, full of the tiredness that Willow felt in herself. In his hair flecks of grey shone brighter than the usual colour. He was younger than Giles, but it was hard to tell. She also noted that his clothes were rather shabby and old…but what perturbed Willow most was that certain something she sensed deep inside him. It was something she knew and could now recognise, but had not come in contact with for about three years. Willow instantly acknowledged this man as a werewolf.

"Will?" Buffy said with a small note of worry in her voice. Willow snapped out of whatever trance she had been held in. Her face broke into a small smile and quietly she said "Hi."

"Hello Miss Rosenberg," the man beamed, "and both Miss Summers. All of you. Thank you for coming. I am Remus Lupin. I'm the one who asked you to come here. I suppose you're all exhausted, and I know you probably have hundreds of questions you want answering; but for now I think you should all go and get some rest. Fred and George will take you to your rooms, but, er, Miss Rosenberg could I ask you to stay for a little while please?"

Willow nodded, slightly nervous. The others all offered her an encouraging smile before following the Weasley twins up the stairs.

Remus regarded Willow with interest before beginning.

"Again, I thank you for coming here Miss Ro-"

"Please, call me Willow." She interjected.

"Willow," he said in confirmation, "Before we begin, I-I'd like to clear something up. I couldn't help but see you stare before, and I believe I know what you are thinking from the look on your face. Yes, I am a werewolf. You must be a very talented witch to pick that up…" he looked at her, expecting some form of disgust as was the common case. To his slight surprise, Willow merely shrugged and blushed slightly.

"Th-thanks. An ex boyfriend of mine was one too..."

"Really? That's interesting..." Remus smiled, now knowing she was familiar with his condition. He felt instantly from the way she held herself, and the aura she gave off that this young woman was the one to help them, and he could also see she was full of as much trepidation as he was. He couldn't help but warm to her, and so he continued.

"I understand that this must be very hard for you, I heard about your…previous experiences from Rupert Giles and so, well, I suppose I just want you to know how grateful I am, and how grateful Harry will be. We all are. Without you we'd all have a very long struggle ahead of us. Harry needs Sirius to do this."

"Sirius?" Willow asked, "Was that…?"

Remus shifted uncomfortably and swallowed at the memory of his friend. He scratched his head in a distracted fashion.

"Yes. That was his name. Sirius Black. He was Harry Potter's godfather and-"

"Mr. Lupin," Willow interrupted...

"Remus." He added with a small smile. Willow smiled back timidly.

"Remus, I'm so sorry, I'm really tired, and it's not that I don't-"

"Oh Lord! Sorry Willow, I understand completely. Please…" he began to step away…

"Can ask one question before I go?"

"Of course…go on." He waited for her query.

"How did he die?"

Remus swallowed again and looked up at the ceiling. Sighing he tried to answer as quickly as he could.

"He fell through a veil, a divide between two worlds. It should be…OK to bring him back. If you understand what I'm saying?"

Willow nodded. She'd done cross-dimensional resurrections before. She could relate to him better now. She remembered exactly how worried she had been when Buffy had left them, sacrificing herself for them all. At that point, they had no idea where she'd gone or where she'd been, and so she perfectly understood what Harry, and clearly Remus, was feeling. She nodded to him in thanks, bid him goodnight and turned to head upstairs and find her room. She only hoped deep down in her heart that she wouldn't make the same mistake as last time; and bring this Sirius Black back from heaven.

* * *

Spike watched as Sirius paced slightly. He didn't know how he could do it. He himself had been terrified to move from the spot in case he'd fallen from his invisible floor into oblivion. Sirius clearly didn't care though, and muttered away to himself now and then, eyes darting over the white place they both were in. Suddenly he stopped, heaved a sigh and headed over to join Spike where he stood.

"So, I think we're pretty much stuck here. Might as well relax for a while…if this is where I'm staying for the rest of my bloody life…or death" his face crinkled as he pondered this, and he sat down, laying his legs out very casually. Spike's lip curled into a slim smirk, and he sat down as well. He was amused to see his new companion was so utterly cool with the current situation. They both sat lounging slightly and remained silent for a while before Sirius broke the peace.

"So what happened to you?"

"Died." Spike said with a sniff.

"Yeah I know that," Sirius rolled his eyes, "How exactly?"

Spike hadn't thought about it much since it had actually happened. Or well, he hadn't exactly processed it through his mind. He'd thought about Buffy mostly. And how he missed her.

"Well my friends and I were fighting a great evil, and I had on this fancy charm thing. Very Liz Taylor. And well, I don't know. I remember fire, and power going through me. I died, but I think I saved the world..."

Sirius blinked. "By dying?"

Spike nodded. Sirius nodded back in as much sincerity as he could muster, although the idea utterly confused him.

"What about you?" asked Spike, regarding the apparently uninjured man.

"My _lovely _cousin killed me somehow, I think she stunned me through some sort of curtain…"

Off Spike's look, which mirrored the one he'd kept inside a few moments before, he laughed.

"Sounds ridiculous doesn't it?"

"Not as ridiculous as dying and saving the world…" Spike answered shifting his legs. Then it occurred to him. Frowning he turned to Sirius.

"Stunned?"

"Wizard." Came the reply.

"Oh right…all into the hocus pocus?"

"Well, I was…why? Aren't you a wizard as well?"

Spike shook his head.

"Nope. Vampire."

Off Sirius' look he added, "With a soul."

Sirius nodded and edged away slightly. Spike sighed.

"I'm not going to eat you."

"Oh good. Thanks. That's a great relief. I'm in hell and I'm with a vampire. _With a soul_." He finished sarcastically. "Marvellous."


	5. Two Worlds

_AN: Wow! Thank you all so much for your comments! I see a lot of you are pondering exactly what's going to happen in the story. Well I'm going to take a leaf out of Ms. Rowling's book and keep quiet. I've got all my ideas sorted and you'll just have to be patient with me and see for yourselves! I hope you continue to enjoy the story and thanks again for all the words of encouragement!_

**Chapter 5**

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**Two Worlds**

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The next morning, Dawn was awoken by hushed whispering, and it took her a few minutes to realise that they weren't in her head. The previous night, Fred and George Weasley had led her to a room, and from their quiet yet extremely lively chatter she'd deciphered that she would be sharing a room with two other girls. She hadn't managed to speak to her roommates yet, as upon entering the room she was greeted with gentle snoring. Now though, she opened her eyes to see two extremely bright pairs staring back at her.

"Good Morning!" cried one voice, and Dawn looked around to see its owner, a rather small girl with mussed up hair, as red as the Weasley brothers. The other girl was also suffering from bed-head, but her hair was brunette and quite bushy looking, and Dawn noticed she was holding an extremely large and grumpy looking ginger cat. She looked a little older than her redheaded companion.

"How are you feeling?" asked the older girl, shifting the cat in her arms so Dawn could now see it's face; which looked a bit squashed, very much like someone had hit it with a frying pan.

"Tired…" she murmured in reply, but still sat up to greet them, "I'm Dawn Summers…"

"I'm Ginny!" said the scarlet haired girl with a large grin.

"Weasley?" asked Dawn with a knowing smile. Ginny nodded in response.

"You've met my brothers?"

"Fred and George?" Dawn replied. Ginny's grin widened.

"You've still got Bill, Charlie, Percy and Ron to meet," she exclaimed, "but you probably won't meet Percy, and Charlie's really busy…and Bill-"

"I'm Hermione Granger," interrupted the other girl giving Ginny a withering glance, "And this is Crookshanks." Hermione stroked her cat's flat head lovingly.

Dawn smiled again in greeting.

"How old are you two?" she asked as she threw her legs over the bed to get up.

"I'm nearly 16," answered Hermione, "and Ginny is 14…you're…?"

"17…" replied Dawn slipping on her trainers, "I'm starving…are we allowed down for breakfast?"

Ginny was giggling. Dawn and Hermione looked at her questioningly.

"Your accent is funny…" said Ginny blushing slightly, her cheeks going a faded colour of her hair; and Hermione glared at her warningly. Dawn merely laughed.

"Yours is as well…I guess that's just how it is…"

At this point Crookshanks gave a loud and wailing meow, which made them all jump, and then laugh.

"He's hungry too," Hermione said wisely, "Come on, or the boys will get there first and eat everything..."

The three girls headed out of the room and down the stairs.

Breakfast was an eventful activity. Buffy, Xander and Willow were all still asleep, but Andrew, fully dressed, looking desperately excited and tense simultaneously met the three on the stairs.

"I couldn't sleep!" he claimed, "Xander kept snoring and there were all these rustly noises…"

"That'll be the rats…" said Ginny calmly. Andrew paled.

As the foursome passed the curtains that the noise had come from the previous night, Hermione explained that behind them was a portrait of an old woman, Mrs. Black, who had a tendency to scream insults at anyone who she saw, and was best to be avoided. They headed along the hall and down some stairs into the huge stone kitchen, where a table was laid out for many people in the centre of the room. Dawn was reminded of an old medieval banqueting hall. A large fire, the main source of light in the poorly lit room, burned low at one end of the room, with a large blackened kettle hung over it. Iron pots and pans were strung around the room giving a slight homely feel to the place. An assortment of people were sat around the table, with another redheaded and rather plump looking woman bustling about near the stove.

Dawn soon discovered that this was Mrs. Weasley, ("Call me Molly dear!") a very kindly woman who Dawn immediately felt welcomed by. She sat them down at the table and loaded mountains of toast and sausages onto their plates. As she hurried about making the breakfasts for the rest of the number of people in the house, Dawn and Andrew became acquainted with Mr. Arthur Weasley, who seemed fascinated with where they had come from and how they lived.

"Dad collects muggle things. He finds it interesting…" muttered Ginny through a mouthful of cornflakes.

"Muggle?" Dawn said with a frown.

"Non-magical people…" came the response from Hermione, and she proceeded to explain to Dawn a little about the magical world, whilst Andrew fell under the interrogation from Mr. Weasley.

Ten minutes later, five others joined them in the kitchen. Fred and George sat opposite Andrew and watched amused as their father asked him how he did up his shirt buttons in the morning. Their driver from the night before turned out to be Bill Weasley, the eldest and possibly coolest Weasley of the bunch. His long flaming hair was in a ponytail and he wore a fang earring in his left ear, apparently much to his mother's annoyance. The other two boys sat down near Fred and George and regarded Dawn with curiosity. One of them was unquestionably another Weasley, and she guessed that this one must be Ron. He was a thin and rather gangly looking boy, and he offered her a small friendly smile. The other boy gazed mutely. He had untidy black hair, and glasses, and peeking out from beneath a short fringe was a lightening bolt shaped scar. So this was Harry Potter. It struck Dawn that a boy who had meant to have been through so much looked so…normal?

"Harry, Ron, this is Dawn, she's Buffy's sister…the slayer?"

Dawn nodded and smiled nervously back. Harry continued to stare.

"Slayer?" said Ron "Oh yeah…vampire slayer, we've done our research…" he looked pointedly at Hermione and muttered "Not by choice though…"

"You know all about us?" Dawn asked with frown.

"Oh yeah," Ron began to butter the toast his Mum had just laid out in front of him and Harry, "Lupin told us about you a few days ago…"

Dawn bit into a piping sausage. She hardly knew anything about these people, and yet they knew all about her. It made her feel sort of guilty. She turned to Hermione.

"Will you guys tell me about…well…you guys? I'm kinda still in the dark here…"

Harry tilted his head slightly still observing her.

"But you know why you're here?" he said darkly. Dawn nodded to him. Then quietly, she added…

"I'm really sorry about your godfather Harry. When Buffy died…I thought the world was over. And then Willow brought her back…and now…" she trailed off as she saw Ron, Harry, Ginny and Hermione gaping at her.

"Your sister died?" Harry spoke up, his gaze softening. Again, Dawn nodded.

Ron shook his head in amazement and said "Apparently we don't know everything..."

Hermione silently nibbled her last piece toast. Ginny was suddenly really interested in her fork; but Harry continued to look.

"Can you tell me what happened?" he asked, his bright green eyes sparkling, "I need to know…"

"Of course," Dawn said with a small smile, "As long as you guys help me out getting used to all this magical stuff…"

They all nodded, and the five of them rose from the table, heading upstairs to talk, and leaving poor Andrew with the question "And how exactly do you put _ON _the socks?"


	6. The Plan

**Chapter 6**

****

**The Plan**

****

Xander, Buffy and Willow, still quite bleary eyed, headed on downstairs to join the rest of the house. It was late afternoon, and the trio had woken up at last, dressed quickly and met on the hallway of the second floor. Buffy and Willow were sharing a room, as was Xander and Andrew, and they had yet to meet the occupants of the remaining rooms. Dawn and Andrew were yet to be seen, so the three meandered into the basement kitchen to fill their ravenous stomachs.

"Good Afternoon," came the cheery greeting of Remus as he sat at the large centre table reading a newspaper titled, 'The Daily Prophet', "How are you feeling?"

Xander grunted in reply and sat at the table, placing his head in his makeshift hands/pillow, quite ready to fall asleep again. A slightly rotund woman with hair that matched the Weasley twins placed a large mug of coffee down in front of each of them and smiled.

"This is Molly Weasley," said Remus gesturing, "Molly that's Xander Harris, Buffy Summers…Dawn's older sister and Willow Rosenberg."

Mrs. Weasley beamed at them all and sat down at the table herself.

"Remus has been telling us all about you, it's wonderful to finally meet you." She pulled a wand out of her breast pocket of her flowery dress and pointed it at a plate of biscuits situated on the kitchen counter, which promptly floated and landed a little to Xander's right. Willow's eyes widened in amazement. Xander snatched a custard cream. Buffy smiled widely.

"It's nice to meet you too…we've hardly heard anything…Giles just said you needed our help with…Harry? And his godfather?"

Mrs. Weasley nodded solemnly.

"Yes…well-"

But she was interrupted as Xander suddenly sprouted feathers all over his body. Buffy and Willow gasped, their mouths falling open in shock. Remus stared for a moment, and put his head in his hands muttering something exasperatedly.

A beat.

Mrs. Weasley exploded.

"FRED AND GEORGE WEASLEY!!!! WHEN I FIND YOU TWO YOU BOTH ARE IN A GREAT DEAL OF TROUBLE!!!"

"Sorry Xander, they'll fall off in a few moments. That's one of Fred and George's _hilarious _inventions, the Canary Cream…" said Remus with a sigh.

Xander shrugged and spoke something, which was very muffled, his eyes on Willow and Buffy who now, understanding the state of affairs, were in hysterics. At this point, a young and pretty woman walked into the kitchen, her hair quite short, funky and a very bright shade of purple. She looked at the scene and followed Buffy and Willow's example. Xander felt his face go hot.

"Ah…Hello Tonks," greeted Remus, "These are our American comrades. That's Buffy, Willow and over there covered in feathers is Xander."

Tonks, now wiping tears from her eyes, sat down next to Xander and waved to them.

"Fred and George still at it Molly?" she said to Mrs. Weasley, as she grabbed a biscuit from the plate and inspected it suspiciously. Mrs Weasley did not reply, but merely sucked her teeth, provoking a chuckle from Tonks. The feathers fell deftly to the floor and Xander and Tonks made eye contact seeing each other featherless for the first time. A hush fell over the kitchen.

"So Tonks?" asked Xander, nervously taking another biscuit, "Is that a British name I've just never heard before?"

Tonks gave a slight shudder. "It's Nymphadora Tonks actually" she said with a slight smile, "but please…call me Tonks."

Xander smiled back.

"Well please call me Xander. If you call me Harris I get all these bad memories of my coach in high school…" and he shuddered slightly as well, causing Tonks to spray biscuit as she laughed.

Willow and Buffy glanced at each other, their eyes glittering in a shared thought. After Anya had died Xander had been quiet for a short period of time. It was his way of grieving. He never spoke of her much, but his two friends could tell that he loved her and missed her, despite knowing that she had died for their cause…

The group chattered away in the kitchen for a while, Remus, Mrs. Weasley and Tonks doing their best to explain to the three Scoobies about the magical world, and what had happened since Voldemort's return in Harry's fourth year at Hogwarts. They told them of Harry's initial victory against Voldemort when Harry was only a baby, how he got his scar, how he'd come up against the Dark Lord again in the past, the events that took place a few months previously in the Department of Mysteries, and what they faced now in the future. The conversation spun around to the reason they had been called.

"So Harry will need as much support as he can get," said Mrs. Weasley finally, finishing off her own cup of coffee, "and without Sirius…"

Tonks sighed. "Sirius didn't deserve to die…" she murmured quietly. The room was silent for a moment.

"We'll do our best," Buffy spoke solemnly and turned to Remus, "But how are we going to do it? Willow said earlier he fell through a…a veil?"

Remus nodded and started to explain.

"Yes, we believe it's a sort of division between two dimensions. We know that you…er…yourself Buffy, have been to different places…"

The Scoobies looked down at the floor avoiding each others gazes. Remus continued.

"Well, we have some idea as to how we can get through there, and Willow you'll be the one doing that actual spell, yes?"

Willow nodded but her face was dark in thought.

"The thing is Remus," she began, "when I brought Buffy back I used the Urn of Osiris, which was kinda…one of a kind, and it kinda smashed…" She trailed off sheepishly.

Remus didn't look bothered at all by this information. In fact he just nodded in understanding, sensing that the subject was kind of touchy.

"We have a plan…it's a little…weird but we think it might work. It should work." He stopped and nodded once again in confirmation more to himself, than to the others, "It will work…"

The group fell silent again and Buffy clasped her mug, trying to stop the heat seeping out of it. She only hoped Remus knew what he was doing.

* * *

Severus Snape hated number twelve Grimmauld Place with a passion. Not only did it remind him of his foe Black, but also now he knew from Dumbledore that it was "Resurrection Headquarters" he was seriously not amused. How could they even think that bringing him back was a fathomable idea?! And to bring muggles over from America to _help_!?

_"They're not muggles Severus, they're people with gifts. You've met Rupert Giles before, you know he's different…one girl is a slayer, the other is a witch…"_

He hated it when Albus Dumbledore was so reasonable. Severus' job today was to go over and ask for _Miss_…he glanced at the piece of parchment he held in his hand as he walked along towards the grimy square where Grimmauld Place was situated…_Willow Rosenberg_. She was to meet with Dumbledore the next day so they could "talk." He had to admit he was quite curious about this young witch. He'd heard a bit about her from Dumbledore, information that Remus 'werewolf' Lupin had passed on to the headmaster. She rather reminded him of himself actually. She too had struggled with a dark past, and passed through both sides of the magic rainbow. He wondered if she'd be like he imagined at all... Still, Miss Rosenberg didn't play on his mind for long. He was still trying to come to terms with the idea that Sirius Black would soon return from the dead.

_"Harry will need him by his side with what he has to face Severus…you know that. I myself know that in my heart of hearts…and so we cannot miss this opportunity. Harry has already lost so much. We must do what we can in this war…it will soon be upon us all…"_

God, how he hated it when Dumbledore was right.

__

_AN: Just a little note for someone special. Yes Mummy Weasley, the teeth sucking was based on you!_


	7. Dark Times

_AN: Thanks again for all of your comments. They really do help, and constructive criticism is much appreciated._

**Chapter 7**

**Dark Times**

****

Sirius watched wide-eyed as the wailing woman faded into nothingness. She'd literally appeared, and upon hearing from Spike that she was no longer amongst the living, had started howling as if she was mourning the death of someone else. Then she was gone.

Spike said nothing afterwards. He'd seen it before, and had started to get used to this occurrence. Sirius was the only one who had remained.

"What in the name of God was that?!" asked Sirius, breaking the silence that had been between the two men since Spike had revealed he was a vampire.

"Happens a bit round here…you're the only one who's not gone…" replied Spike curtly, turning to look at the still rather shocked wizard. Sirius scratched his head in thought.

"So…they go where exactly?"

"Wherever they're meant to go…heaven…hell?" suggested Spike.

"I thought this _was_ hell?" Sirius said a little more aggressively than he had meant to.

Spike looked away glaring into the white light that surrounded them. He didn't want a conflict, and with this man's apparent prejudice against vampires, it was best that he just ignored him. He rather reminded Spike of Xander, when the two of them had fought in the past. Strange now how he somehow missed that childish provocation…

Sirius sighed quietly. The vampire…Spike he'd said his name was…Sirius was also reminded of someone from his life…his nemesis Snape. They both had the same pale skin and…"all black clothing"…Sirius had once wondered for a long time if Snape was indeed a vampire, but apparently not. Still, he reminded himself that Spike wasn't Snape, and so he couldn't judge him that way.

"Sorry," he mumbled, watching the spot where the woman had once been, "I'm just…this is…If we're dead, and not in hell or heaven…then where are we? Why are we here?"

Spike didn't have an answer.

* * *

By seven o-clock, the delicious aroma of dinner was drifting through the house. Soon the kitchen table was full with all the inhabitants of Number Twelve, and Buffy, Xander and Willow had the chance to meet a whole new bunch of faces. Mr. Weasley and his eldest son Bill joined them still chatting avidly to Andrew, who, rather excited about all the attention he was getting, was now explaining about computers. Mr Weasley looked as if he'd died and gone to heaven.

"Did you hear that Molly?" he shouted to his wife, "Andrew here is going to teach me how to use a kleyboard one day!"

"Keyboard." Corrected a grinning Andrew. Mrs. Weasley shook her head and raised her eyes to heaven.

Fred, George and Tonks sat with Xander discussing the difference between Sunnydale High and the school they had all been to, Hogwarts.

"Well we had a swimming team that were part fish at one point…" boasted Xander.

"Oh that's nothing," claimed Fred.

"Yeah, we had a giant squid in the lake…" finished George.

Tonks smiled at Xander as he explained about all the adventures he and his friends had had in the past. Her hair was now a brilliant bubblegum blue, and she continuously changed it throughout the day, much to Xander's amusement.

Buffy and Willow were with Remus at the far end of the table, chatting about the house itself, Remus explaining how much work they had done last summer to get it clean, or well, as clean as it could be.

The younger generation came in last, and it was then that one trio met another. Buffy, Willow and Xander finally met the famous Harry Potter and his friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. Dawn, who had been accepted amongst the small group, went with Ron's younger sister Ginny to sit with Fred and George.

Buffy smiled warmly at the boy, who smiled back politely. He sat opposite her between his friends. Willow watched him curiously. So this was the boy whom Remus spoke of…the one that had so much to face. The one she was risking everything for. He seemed to be coping well, and she couldn't see on the surface why he needed Sirius back so much…he hardly looked grief-stricken. Harry was still laughing and joking with his friends, and Willow had trouble picking up what he really felt inside. She glanced at Buffy, who was now in deep discussion with Remus again, before turning back to the three teenagers.

"Hey," she began, "I'm Willow…"

Harry looked at his two friends.

"Ron," nodded the readheaded boy on his left, grinning a little as he looked at her hair. Willow couldn't help but grin back. She'd never seen so many redheaded wizards and witches in her life. In fact, she'd once thought herself to be unique. She wondered if it had something to do with magic…or if it was purely luck.

"Hermione," said the brunette on his right, offering a hand over the table formally. Willow shook it kindly. From the girl's stance, she could tell this was another very powerful witch, and sensing that kind of power in a girl so young made her think back to when she had first began to get used to her own powers. She knew Hermione had a long way to go yet; but Willow had a subliminal feeling that she'd go far.

Harry eyed Willow, with a mixture of suspicion and hope. Then he broke into a small smile.

"Harry." he said, his green eyes shining. Looking at the witch that Remus Lupin said would be the one to bring Sirius back to him, he wondered if she was up to the job. She looked very nervous as he had entered the room, but then again, he had felt nervous when he'd first heard of the impending plan. He was beginning to get used to it. With what he had yet to face, he felt that he could be stronger if he had Sirius by his side once again…

Dinner was pleasant with everyone now acquainted, and after a delicious meal made by Mrs. Weasley, they were all stuffed and ready for a relaxing evening…

Then the doorbell rang, sending Mrs. Black into one of her fits. Remus rushed to the door.

_"Filthy half breed! Scum of the world, messing up my home! Traitors and thieves and mudbloods-" _

_"Severus I thought we said just knocking…"_

A deep voice echoed into the kitchen, a voice that made Willow shiver.

_"This is urgent Remus, I don't have time to stand outside waiting for you…"_

She turned to Harry expectantly. He, Ron and Hermione were looking at each other darkly.

"Professor Snape," said Hermione looking distastefully at the doorway, "Our Potions teacher…"

"He hates me." added Harry turning to Willow. She frowned and looked to the door. In the doorway stood Severus Snape, his black robes billowing; giving her the impression of a large vampire bat. His very pale, sallow skin, and long greasy black locks added to the vampire notion, and his noir eyes bore directly into her. She looked away very quickly, and knew from that moment, that this man was strange beyond words. The room was silent now, apart from the occasional chinking of cutlery.

"I'm here to speak to Willow Rosenberg…" he announced, still looking at Willow. She stood up, and smiled as politely as she could. Remus, standing behind Snape gave her an encouraging look. Everyone's gazed flicked between Willow and Snape, like a voiceless tennis match was taking place.

"…alone."

Snape left the doorway and headed back into the hallway from whence he came. Willow followed. Remus nodded to her as she passed him; and from behind she heard one of the Weasley brothers cough something that sounded awfully like "slimy git". A thud and a groan of pain made her chuckle slightly, knowing that Mrs. Weasley had dealt with her son.

In the now quiet hall, Willow again examined the man in front of her, and she felt him do the same to her. He made her very uneasy. For some reason she couldn't sense any particular feelings that he was giving off. There was no emotion. No nervousness, no hostility. Nothing.

"Miss Rosenberg, Professor Albus Dumbledore wishes to see you tomorrow to discuss with you," he paused, and now Willow felt that he was finding whatever he had to say quite a challenge, "…to discuss the imminent resurrection of Sirius Black."

Willow nodded and looked up at him. His eyes revealed nothing either. Whatever had been there a moment before was now gone.

"I shall come for you tomorrow morning at eleven o-clock."

And with that he swished his flapping cloak and turned to leave. The front door closed behind him with a creak. Willow slowly trailed back into the kitchen.


	8. To Hogwarts

**Chapter 8**

****

**To Hogwarts…**

****

Darkness cloaked the room that Buffy and Willow shared. Both young women lay in their beds, but neither was asleep. Buffy stared at the pitch-black ceiling, lost in her own thoughts. Willow dug her face into her pillow, as she herself tried to organise the jumble that was her mind. After a few minutes she whispered into the dark.

"Buffy?"

"Yeah?" came the disembodied reply.

Willow paused, breathing slowly.

"Are we doing the right thing here?"

Another pause.

"I don't know…"

Willow was not comforted by this answer.

"What if I…?" she started…

"You won't. Giles has faith in you. You can do it. You know you can."

The room fell quiet for a while.

"You think Harry _really _needs this guy?" asked Willow shakily.

Buffy nodded, and then realising Willow couldn't see her…

"I…I think so. I mean…he seems ok but deep down…and Remus…" she stopped to sigh, "We always want the ones we love back. You guys…you…" Buffy trailed off…not sure how to put the rest.

The silence crept back in the room again.

"You think Remus knows what he's doing?"

"I think so…" answered Buffy.

And again…silence. Then the question that neither could ignore.

"What if we…br-bring him back fr-…?"

"Willow…" Buffy sighed. She really didn't want to go there right now. "We'll have to see…"

Neither girl slept well that night.

By eleven o-clock the next morning, Willow was dressed and ready to go. She had awoken early and silently crept downstairs so as not to disturb the others. Remus and Mrs. Weasley were the only two in the kitchen, and neither was sure about what Dumbledore might want. Willow had only ever heard of this great wizard a few times before from Giles, when they had both been in England. Now was her chance to finally meet him. After breakfast, and much anxious pacing in the hallway, Snape arrived promptly at eleven. He was dressed as he had been the night before, all in black.

"Good Morning Miss Rosenberg…" he greeted her with another stare and Willow merely nodded to him. She bid Remus and Mrs. Weasley farewell before following Snape out into the warm sunshine. Willow had only spent a brief period of time in England the previous year, and so took some time to examine her surroundings. OK – so they weren't in the centre of London where she could see all the wonderful sights, but this was still a whole new world to her. There didn't seem to be many people around on the streets near Grimmauld Place, and Snape remained stonily silent as he stalked along the narrow alleys. Willow had to walk quickly to keep up with him. After a few minutes, they arrived at a wide deserted alley, he stopped and looked around. Willow looked too. There was nobody about. The whole place was abandoned. A few metres away, the rumbling of London traffic could be heard. Snape glanced at Willow.

"Stand back…" he said, pulling his wand out of his pocket. She did as commanded and watched as he shifted it in his hand…then suddenly…he stuck it out in mid-air. There was a large BANG. A gigantic purple bus had appeared out of nowhere at the end of the alley and was rolling their way. It came to a halt where they were standing…

"Welcome to the Knight Bus…" a voice began…

Snape stepped on board pushing the conductor aside. Willow offered the pimply looking man an apologetic smile. He glared at her as she boarded, and so she trembled on past him to find a seat. Inside, she stopped and looked around in wonder. This wasn't a bus! It was like a furniture shop! An assortment of chairs lay scattered around the bus, and Willow saw Professor Snape sit himself down on a garden seat as delicately as possible. He looked repulsed at his surroundings, and had a face like he was chewing on a wasp. The conductor took some silver coins off Snape before asking for their destination,

"Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry…"

After about half an hour of death defying twists and turns, Willow was feeling extremely nauseous. She had seen all kinds of people stumble down the stairs of the three-story bus and practically fall outside upon arriving at the place they wanted to be; each looking very peaky and most thankful to be getting off. The Knight Bus eventually rolled up and stopped with another BANG outside a set of gates. Snape stood up and looked meaningfully at Willow, and they both left the bus, receiving lingering and final glowers from the conductor. BANG! And the bus was gone.

Willow looked up at the amazing castle she could see before her. It was huge. It was bigger than huge. It was gigantic! Turrets rose into the sky, and windows twinkled in the sun like eyes winking at her. This was Harry's school?! It was possibly one of the most beautiful buildings she had ever seen. Snape had set off up the track towards the building. She ran to catch up to where he was.

Once they finally arrived at the huge oak doors that were the main entrance to Hogwarts, Snape turned to address Willow.

"The school is empty apart from the staff…please refrain from touching anything…"

"You work here?" she asked incredulously, still gaping upwards at the massive stone castle. Snape's lip curled into a sort of grimace.

"I do." He replied.

"How do you keep it hidden...?"

"It is unplottable...only magical folk will see it as it truly is."

Snape pushed the doors, which despite looking reasonably heavy, opened easily for the potions master. Willow looked into the entrance hall and gasped. She had expected something as grand as this, but it still took her breath away. Four empty hourglasses stood in the hall, and doorways framed either side of the foyer. She wondered how the children found their way around…if this was only the entrance hall…

Snape walked up a grand set of staircases directly in front of them and headed off to the right. Willow followed. They arrived at the bottom of another staircase. Looking upwards, she saw that there were possibly hundreds of staircases. The whole stairwell was surrounded with portraits, and what shocked her most was that they moved! She could see some maidens in a field frolicking in a meadow. A woman with a baby eyed her beadily as she climbed. Unexpectedly, she was suddenly thrown to the right and gave out a sharp shriek as the staircase she and Snape were on moved around to a totally new direction. Regaining her balance she gawped around her, her brain having trouble taking this all in. Portraits continued to watch the pair of them, and just as Willow was examining one displaying a couple snuggling up to each other, Snape gave a loud cough and she rushed on through a door and along a corridor. They came to a stop at a large stone gargoyle. Snape paused for a moment and sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose as he racked his brain.

"Sugar Quill." He spoke eventually, and to Willow's surprise, the gargoyle suddenly sprang to life. Snape stepped through a gap in the wall to the foot of a spiral staircase and motioned for her to follow. As she did so, the staircase began to move slowly upward like a very weird escalator, until they were outside a broad oak door with a gleaming brass knocker. Snape knocked once before leading Willow into Dumbledore's office…


	9. Doubts and Fears

**Chapter 9**

****

**Doubts and Fears**

Willow sat now in a comfy chintz armchair gazing around the wondrous room that was the office of Albus Dumbledore. The room was circular, and the walls were covered in even more portraits, of what Willow guessed were the previous headmasters and headmistresses of Hogwarts. The people were apparently asleep, but once or twice she was sure she saw one or two of them peeping through slanted eyes at her. Now and then there were odd tinkly noises from one of the interesting silver objects that were dotted around the room. Albus Dumbledore sat in front of Willow, behind his desk beaming at her, his un-missable blue eyes sparkling in the afternoon sunlight behind his glasses. Professor Snape had left them to talk, and half a cup of tea later they had both grown quiet. Willow itched to ask him all sorts of questions, but she just stirred her tea and admired the room.

"Well…Willow…" Dumbledore started, and Willow looked up. His eyes still sparkled, but they had dimmed somewhat, and he now stared in some direction to her left. She listened to what he had to say.

"You probably know quite a bit, from Remus Lupin…however I feel I should explain more. When I first met Rupert Giles some years ago, he had been an associate of Harry's father, James Potter. He was merely a face and a name, but over the years, as your friend Buffy became the slayer, Mr. Giles asked for books from us to help him with her training. We were only happy to oblige, we here at Hogwarts encourage the development of powers that can benefit the world… And so that is how I know him…" Dumbledore paused to take a sip of his tea, and then continued.

"It was only a few months ago that we lost Sirius Black…a very brave man. I blame myself…I should not have allowed him to be cooped up in Grimmauld Place for too long…did you know that the authorities were...and still are looking for Sirius Black?"

Dumbledore looked very mournful. Willow shook her head.

"He was wrongfully accused of crimes he did not commit, and escaped from our wizard prison, Azkaban some two or three years ago…unfortunately, evidence we need to prove his innocence is well…unavailable at the present time…but we hope things will change in the future."

Willow nodded. She was quite interested in this Black character. She'd not heard much about his past, and so continued to listen…

"You know about Harry's parents?" asked Dumbledore over his half moon spectacles. Willow smiled inwardly at the thought that he might take them off and clean them in a very Gilesy manner. She nodded in response. Dumbledore went on.

"Harry and Sirius did not spend much time together…Harry was where you are now as I tried my best to comfort him after the…incident. He was…devastated. And very confused…and I still don't think he has recovered fully from his loss…"

Willow remembered when she had lost Tara…and what had ensued from that. She felt she could relate to Harry, but still…she wasn't convinced. Dumbledore sensed her doubt and looked at her expectantly.

"He seems OK now…" she felt awful for saying it, but it was the truth. Dumbledore smiled a little.

"Yes…he's a very brave young man…he's been through too much already, and there is more to come. Which is the reason I agreed to this…I feel Harry isn't OK at all on the inside…and it's what inside that counts really, is it not?"

Dumbledore paused…and looked at her directly. Then, his features motionless…

"Willow…tell me what you feel. "

Willow looked up at him, and their eyes met.

"I'm scared. The magic…if it's too strong…" she shuddered at the thought.

Dumbledore thought for a moment.

"Willow. You came to England a few days ago…?"

She nodded. A small smile crept onto his face.

"Then a few days ago…when you agreed to come and do this for us…you knew in yourself that you could do it. I know you have struggled in the past. But you have come far since then. You have learnt from Giles, and from your mistakes. Your friends have faith in you. You must have faith in yourself. I believe you activated the rest of the slayers? That is very powerful magic Willow, and you did it. And you are here as pure as you were..."

Willow listened to his words and realised he was right in some way…she had finally agreed when Buffy had suggested that they do it for the same reason they had brought her back…because they needed her. Then she thought of something else…

"When I brought Buffy back…she came back from heaven…?"

Dumbledore sighed.

"Willow…I want to show you something. I think it may quell your fears about bringing Sirius back from a place he is happy in…"

Dumbledore rose, and walked over to a black cabinet that Willow had hardly taken any notice of. He took out of it a shallow stone basin glowing slivery white, and carried it over to his desk, placing it in front of her. Around the edge, Willow saw some runes and signs that she could not decipher, and so she looked at the bowl's contents. It was like looking into a river of fog…shining a brilliant white, and flickering into grey and silver hues, then dazzling silver…at first it appeared to be as soft as cloud, but the next moment it looked like swirling water…she could not tell exactly what it was. It was entrancing.

"This is a Pensieve…it is a place for me to store certain memories and thoughts…"

Willow looked up and saw Dumbledore place his wand to his head. Then he dragged the wand away, and what appeared to be one of his long silver hairs clung to his wand's tip. He placed it glistening into the bowl, and the face of a man appeared in the matter. It was man Willow had never seen before…he looked as though once upon a time he had been very attractive, but something had changed that…so that now he looked quite haunted. This was Sirius Black. He stared out at them before fading away. Dumbledore placed a hand on either side of the bowl and swirled it slightly…and another image appeared…

It was like seeing a birds-eye-view of a room…and in the room Willow could see a scene below her…a room where a battle was taking place. She looked up at Dumbledore. He stared down at her.

"Look closer Willow…" was all he said.

She did so, transfixed, trying to see the figures that were moving in the room…leaning closer, and closer, mesmerized, until the very tip of her nose touched the now glass like substance…where suddenly she felt herself pulled head first through, into the Pensieve with a great tilt…and she stood in the room where the fight was taking place. She was standing right in the very centre of the room on a dais…and on that, a little to her left, stood a crumbling stone archway…and a black tattered veil…_the veil_ …seats rose tier by tier around her…and she turned to see what was going on…

It was a total fray. Figures were blurs, people in black, spells whizzing around her so close she almost had to duck. Willow looked around…and saw some people she recognised. There was Harry with a boy she did not know…and there was Remus, and on the floor…

"Tonks!!!" she cried seeing the witch immobile, sprawled on the ground.

Nobody moved. Nobody even turned to see where her voice came from. Apparently they could not see her. Either that or nobody was taking much notice…and so she stayed where she was, rooted to the spot…

"DUBBLEDORE!" shouted someone, the boy with Harry. Willow looked and saw Dumbledore rush down the stairs, not looking at all as friendly as he did a few moments ago in his office. The people in black called to one another and tried to flee, but Dumbledore stopped them. Very close to Willow, one last pair remained fighting. Sirius Black and a woman. An evil looking woman with sunken eyes…she vaguely resembled Sirius…

"Come on, you can do better than that!" he cried, his voice echoing eerily in Willow's ears. A bright jet of magic hit him right in his chest. Sirius' eyes widened, but his face still kept some of that jovial taunting pleasure he had been shouting to the woman only moments before. She turned briefly and saw Harry's face…he was running down the tiers to his godfather. Willow felt her heart break inside.

Willow turned back, in slow motion, sick heat rising in her stomach as she saw Sirius fall through the veil in a beautiful yet painfully lingering moment of death…the veil waved as though the wind had blown across it, and then it fell back into place…stationary…her gaze lingered on the veil…

The woman was screaming in triumph.

"SIRIUS!"

"There's nothing you can do, Harry-"

"Get him, save him, he's only just gone through!"

"-it's too late Harry."

A hand gripped Willow's arm gently…

"We can still reach him-"

She heard Remus' last words, and her last image was the utter anguish on Harry's face…

"There's nothing you can do, Harry…nothing…he's gone."

All was black for a moment, and then slowly Willow felt herself stand upright again, as if she had flipped over very slowly. Dumbledore stood on her right watching her softly. Willow wiped her eyes with her sleeve…she didn't even remember beginning to cry. She turned to him, his blue eyes sparkling once again…and she nodded slowly.


	10. Set in Motion

_Hello All! Once again, thanks very much for your comments! I'm flattered that anyone would take interest in something that I'm just scribbling away.  Sorry about the wait, but I needed a short break to clear my head and to get some jobs done.  Hope you enjoy!_

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**Chapter 10**

**Set in Motion…**

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Willow did not return to Grimmauld Place via the Knight Bus.  She was still very shaky after her experience in the Pensieve, and so Dumbledore had quickly walked over to his desk and picked up a shining turquoise inkpot.  After a quick tap of his wand, she was told to touch it and she would return to her temporary home.  She did so, feeling a great tug around her midriff, her hand still clinging to the tiny object. She flew past colours and shapes as if she was caught in a whirlwind…before collapsing on the kitchen floor back at Grimmauld Place.  Mrs. Weasley rushed to help her to her feet.

"Are you all right dear?" she enquired, a anxious expression upon her face as she faced her fellow redhead.  Willow nodded and mumbled something about needing to lie down.  She left the kitchen under the watchful gaze of Remus.  Once she was in her room, she lay on her bed, only now realising how drained she felt after her encounter in Dumbledore's office.  She soon fell asleep, and dreamt of sinister laughter…a glaring white sea in which she was drowning.  She flailed her arms, trying desperately to cry for help, but all she could hear smothering her pleas was the triumphant screech of the woman who had killed Sirius Black…

"Willow!"

Someone or something was grabbing hold of her arms...her eyes flew open.

"Willow you were dreaming…" Buffy was sat on the edge of the bed, gently gripping Willow's wrists to stop them from moving.  Willow groaned as she sat up.

"Sorry Buff, nightmare…"

Buffy produced a tiny smile.

"No biggie…as long as no primal slayers were coming to kill you…?" she raised an eyebrow questioningly. Willow shook her head.

"Have fun with Dumblebee?"  Asked the slayer as she stood up to leave.

"Dumbledore," amended Willow, "And…fun isn't the word I'd use..."

Buffy tilted her head and folded her arms as she stood in the doorway, waiting for more information.

"I saw how he died Buffy…I don't know anymore…he died so…" she looked at her friend, to see Buffy frowning back.

"That's gotta be tough on you Will…"

Willow paused, deep in thought, and then nodded to herself.

"Yeah… But I'm gonna do this."

They regarded each other for a moment, before Buffy smiled softly once more.

"OK…" she said, "Just as long as it's all OK…?" Buffy held off revealing the last of her thoughts.

Willow nodded once more to Buffy, an extremely solemn nod.  Then her face lightened slightly.

"Call me for dinner?"

"Sure."

"So this is the…" Xander put on a very exaggerated British accent, "draaawing room."

Tonks giggled, and he watched her, a smile creeping onto his lips.

"Did people actually draw in the…" again he put on his mock-Giles drawl, "draaawing room?"

Tonks shrugged.  Her hair was now a shoulder length brunette, and she'd offered to give Xander a proper tour of the Black's house before dinner.

"I don't know…I think it was sort of like…a room to chill out in…" she replied.

They both eyed the sinister looking gargoyle figures, which were being stored in the disgusting olive room.  There was very little light.  Cobwebs hung like banners in the high ceilings, and a number of grimy looking tapestries decorated the walls.  This place was used very much like a dumping ground for items people wouldn't want to see around the house.

"Or maybe not…" Xander said with a shuddering glance at a particularly nasty stuffed statue of a snake eating a bird, which sat on a desk nearby.  Again, Tonks laughed and their eyes met for a moment.  They moved closer to each other, and she opened her mouth to talk…when a noise at the door disturbed the pair.  Andrew peeked in.

"Ooo creepy…" he exclaimed, surveying the room. Spotting something that interested him; he shot across the room to view the article closer.  Xander rolled his eyes, whilst Tonks watched in amusement.

"What's this?" asked Andrew, picking up the festering item by a strand of what he apparently thought was string.  Xander had to turn away to stifle his choked laughter.  Tonks' eyes glittered mischievously and she grinned.  In his hand, Andrew held the rotted head of a decapitated house-elf, possibly a former worker of the Black's…but clearly he was not aware of this.

"Why that?!" began Tonks, stepping closer to Andrew, "Well that's a truly fascinating piece…that is…"

She gulped and had to cover her mouth.  His eager expression was just too much for her to take…

"It's what?" he chirruped, his eyes bright with child-like anticipation.

Xander had tears down his cheeks.

"That's the head of a house elf." She finished before bursting into hysterics, leaning against Xander for support.  Still, Andrew did not release the head.

"Oooo! What's one of those?"

Xander and Tonks left the room, half carrying each other; leaving poor Andrew alone in the dark.  After a few minutes they managed to contain themselves.  Again they looked at each other, smiling…

"Xander…" Tonks tried to begin again…

"Dinner!!!" came the sweet voice of Dawn from the floor below.  Tonks sighed exasperated. Xander headed downstairs.

"Come on," he cried, "Sit with me?"

She nodded.  As they were leaving, the resounding "EW!!!" from the drawing room reached their ears…and they were off again.

Dinner was pleasant enough…everyone chattering away to one another.  Andrew entered the room glowering at Tonks and Xander, holding his arms out as far away from his body as possible.  Fred and George, upon hearing of his incident with the body part, plotted to place something in his bed, much to Xander and Tonks' delight.

Willow sat at the far end of the table with Buffy as usual, and Remus cast her a searching look. She smiled genuinely at him; to receive what she thought might be a very genuine smile back. Remus' face didn't looks half as old as usual as he laughed and joked with the two women about Giles' past.

"Ripper?" he laughed, "Why yes, I believe I met him once during this so called 'Ripper-phase'…Rupert was closer to James, and he did know Sirius.  I think they all went out once…" he cast his mind back and his lips curled into a smile of remembrance.

"You know he slept with my Mom?" Buffy put in, poking her salad forcefully as she herself cast her mind back.  The look on Remus' face was enough to set her off chuckling again.  Once everything was cleared away, everyone headed off in their different directions to do whatever they did around the house.  Remus stopped Willow just as she was heading out and up to her room.

"Are you sure you're all right?" he queried, the worried look returning to his face…ageing him again.

"I'm fine…really. I am. Just gonna…chill out till…you know"…She trailed off smiling at him. He nodded back to her.

"Well we've got a few days to do any final plans, and I can go over everything with you…I just have one more thing to acquire…and I think perhaps the day before…we should visit the Ministry itself, just so you can see maybe where you'll be…"

"Sure," she beamed, "That'll be fine…not to mention interesting…" The inner geek still hadn't fully left her.

This provoked another chuckle from Remus.

"Yes I suppose it will…but we'll have to be inconspicuous.  Don't want people wondering what we are doing there…"

A few minutes later, the two headed off their separate ways.


	11. Teenage Kicks

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_Thanks again for all your notes! A special thank you to '__phoenix83ad', who once again has picked up on some of the little things that I forget about…I'll bear it in mind from now on! And also to 'ShawThang' who I believe has followed this from the beginning, and also continuously puts in helpful comments! Hope you all enjoy the next part!_

**Chapter 11**

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**Teenage Kicks**

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Midnight. Most of the residents of Grimmauld Place lay fast asleep…but there were a few exceptions.

In the boy's room, Harry, Ron, Hermione and Dawn all sat wide-awake, partaking in one of their night time chats. These had become a regular occurrence during the hot summer evenings, and with the arrival of Dawn, the talks seemed to last longer and longer each night.

****

"So what happened next?" asked Dawn through a mouthful of chocolate frog. She reached out and grabbed a packet of Drooble's gum, which she decided was next to be devoured.

"Well…then I managed to get Ron and the girl to the surface," Harry continued his story, Ron ever so often adding a soft "Yeah…that was wicked." Hermione, lying on Harry's bed, remained engrossed in a book she'd plucked from the Black's desecrated library; absentmindedly stroking Crookshank's head. Once the story of the second task had been told, a hush fell upon the little crowd.

"So what about the next task?" Dawn enquired, before blowing an impressive bubble, bigger than any she'd ever blown before. It splattered onto her cheek with a large POP, and she hastily plucked the sweet, gooey mess off her cheek. She was beginning to like all these magical foods. Ron cast a anxious look at Harry, and the dark haired boy's face fell. Hermione slowly looked up from her book. Dawn sensed that perhaps it hadn't been the best of questions to ask. She snatched another piece of gum. The silence remained, pressing down upon her ears.

"Er…the third task was a maze," began Ron with a nervous glance at his friends, "And Harry had to get past all sorts of stu-"

"No." Harry interrupted sharply, fixing his eyes on the American.

"Dawn should know the truth Ron," Hermione spoke ominously from her place on the bed, "She's helping us with this..."

Dawn wasn't exactly sure if she really wanted to know. She kicked herself inwardly. How many times was it now that her nosy attitude had gotten her into trouble? Too many.

"The third task was when Voldemort was brought back…" Harry spoke finally, and although his gaze was focusing on Dawn, she could see he wasn't really concentrating.

"Oh…" she said softly, chewing as quietly as she could. She gulped down some saliva and examined the shiny wrapper. Hermione looked rather business like.

"Dawn, is there anything else you want to know about Voldemort?" she asked seriously.

"Hermione…" Ron physically shuddered and nudged his head meaningfully at Harry; and quite obviously in Dawn's opinion. Hermione tutted, whereas Harry turned his gaze away into the distance.

"Erm…n-not really…I suppose…who…brought him back?" she tentatively looked up.

"Wormtail." Said an unmoving Harry. This meant nothing to Dawn.

"Peter Pettigrew…" explained Hermione briskly, "His nickname is Wormtail, because he's an animagus. He can turn into a rat…he was a friend of Harry's parents, and Remus…and Sirius…" she trailed off herself, unsure what else to say.

Dawn could sense there was more, but didn't dare ask. In fact, at that particular moment in time, she didn't dare breathe.

"He was their friend…he betrayed my parents. He told Voldemort where they were. He was the one who framed Sirius." Harry still remained fixed on the floor behind Dawn, but now an angry glint in his eyes shone in the flame from the one candle they were using as their source of light.

"Framed?" Dawn said puzzled. Hermione continued to explain.

"Sirius was framed for the murder of Peter, but he didn't really die…and everyone blamed him for Harry's parents' death too…he was locked up in Azkaban. The wizard prison. He escaped..."

"That's why this is all very secretive…the Ministry are still looking for him…" Harry looked up, and gauged Dawn's expression. He frowned, "Didn't anyone tell you this?"

Dawn shook her head. Harry sighed…he must have explained it a few times to people…Dawn could only imagine how exhausted he felt, with this burden of knowledge. And once upon a time she'd thought she'd had a rough time being the key and all. She looked at Harry and wondered how he dealt with everything…what he had been through, and what else was to come...

A sound like a whip-crack came from the corner. Fred and George were both stood grinning broadly.

"What have you done?" Ron asked suspiciously. His brothers' grins only widened.

"Seriously…what have you done?" Hermione glared at the twins, and their smiles faded. Obviously Hermione had authority…either that or Fred and George were afraid of her usual threat…either tell her or she'd tell their Mother.

"Hermione…we've only been carrying out the wishes of a one Xander Harris…" Began George,

Dawn started to smile.

"Yes…we just had a little job to see to…and we wondered if you were still awake so we thought we'd call in. But…" Fred yawned widely, and very fakely, "We're off to bed now…ever so tired. 'Night!"

And with another whip-crack, they were gone.

In the morning, Fred and George were nowhere to be seen. It was discovered very early at daybreak, that the twins had indeed carried out their 'house-elf head' plan, and now a very shaken Andrew gripped a mug of coffee in the kitchen, whilst a storming Mrs. Weasley began breakfast.

By mid-morning, the two marauding Weasleys still hadn't been found.

"Oh Arthur, I'm sick of them! Really! Giving Andrew such a fright…"

"Now Molly, it was probably a mistake…Fred and George probably meant…"

"No excuses Arthur!! I swear those two will either end up killing someone…or each other…HOPEFULLY THE LATTER!!!" she screeched the final sentence in the hope that her sons might hear her. However, if they did, they made no sign of it.

Dawn had the chance to do some more exploring whilst Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny finished some last minute work for school ("Honestly…you'd think Snape had never heard of the word 'holiday'" exclaimed Ron). She wandered around a bit here and there, eventually coming across the drawing room. A quick glance in and out…but something made her look back. A tuft of red hair peaked out from behind a moss coloured curtain, and a few clouds of dust spewed into the air. Dawn heard faint mumbles…and she grinned as a plan hatched in her brain.

Creeping silently across the room, Dawn stood next to the curtain.

"Mum's going mad…"

"What do you mean _going_?"

With a silent titter, Dawn yanked the curtain aside to reveal the petrified looking twins. The looks upon their faces caused her to giggle manically. Fred and George didn't look impressed.

"Beat you at your own game!" declared Dawn, still laughing a little.

"Is that a challenge?" Asked Fred mischievously. Dawn grinned back at them. She couldn't help but like Fred and George…even through difficult times they had the ability to keep a positive outlook. Dawn admired people like this; they always appeared to be very strong.

Not wanting to find any house-elf body parts in her own bed, Dawn politely declined, and headed off upstairs for a guided tour of the rest of the house.

* * *

Spike and Sirius looked at each other apprehensively. Not much had been said since their last conversation, but now, as their garish surroundings got (if it was even possible) brighter…they both could feel the slight pressure that was pushing down upon them…around them…closing in…

"Has this ever happened before?" asked Sirius, whirling around, trying to see what was causing the changes. Spike shook his head, his mouth dry.

"No…" he said hoarsely…

A way off in the distance, neither spotted the figure forming from the light…


	12. The Beast Within

**Chapter 12**

**The Beast Within**

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Back at Grimmauld Place, the evening consisted of dinner, and then a small meeting for the adults in the kitchen. Buffy, Willow, Xander, Tonks, Remus and Mr. And Mrs. Weasley sat around the large table, somewhat like the knights told in legends. The meeting was an important one, but to Willow, this one was nothing compared to the one she knew she'd have to sit through the next night…

"So Arthur here is going to take you to the Ministry…" explained Remus, "and Tonks and Kingsley Shacklebolt are going to accompany you."

"We work there, so it'll look OK…" smiled Tonks, her hair now long, curly and platinum blonde.

"I'm going to say you're an expert here to look at some regurgitating toilets, if anyone asks…" added Mr. Weasley with a big smile.

"They'll take you down to the Department of Mysteries…if anyone asks you Willow…you're on a tour of the courtrooms."

Willow nodded in understanding.

"Are there going to be any department workers down there?" Xander spoke up, pre-emting Willow's own thoughts.

Remus gave an awkward shrug.

"From what I've heard, not many have been down there since they all found out Death Eaters managed to get in…big security issues…it'll be investigated so it's likely to be off limits for a while…which is why we must be careful."

Willow wasn't really listening. She'd done things like this before; broken into morgues, snuck around late at night, she wasn't particularly fussed about sneaking into what was likely to be an abandoned department. Suddenly though, she had a thought.

"Did you get that last thing you needed for…?" she blurted out. Everybody turned to look at Remus. He shrank into his chair a little and scratched the back of his hand tensely. It was then that Willow realised just how pale Remus looked…was he ill? Or just nervous about what was to come…?

"Erm…no…I'll have it by tomorrow. Don't worry." He flashed her a small smile and she smiled back. She thought of it no more. It slipped her mind that tonight was a full moon.

As the evening progressed, Xander noted that most of the house seemed eager to go to bed early that night. He wasn't going to complain…he was uber tired. He and Tonks had spent the day attempting to clean out the disgusting library, and so a dust fight had ensued…before Mrs. Weasley promptly stopped the both of them. Covered in grime, both had agreed to desist, but there was no doubt that the bond they shared was getting stronger. It frightened Xander a little how much he liked Tonks; Anya had been his one true love…or so he'd thought. He missed her terribly, and had hidden his feelings well. Buffy and Willow never seemed to ask him about her. But now, a while had passed since she had died…was it even possible that he could find a love like hers again?

"Hey Xander…you seen Dawn?" Buffy interrupted his musings, poking her head around his door.

"She's in her room with Hermione…" he answered, "Have you seen Tonks?"

Buffy shook her head, before leaving and heading on down the stairs. A quick glance at the clock told her it was seven thirty…

"Buffy…" a voice called to her from a room off to her right. Buffy turned to look.

"Erm…yeah?" she replied stepping nearer to the shadowy figure in the doorway. A very haggard looking Remus stepped forward into the light a little. In his hand he held an empty goblet.

"Hey Remus," Buffy greeted him brightly, holding her hand out, "Want me to take that to the kitchen for you?"

"No, it's fine…Buffy I need to talk to you quickly." He beckoned her into the room. With a puzzled frown, she followed.

It was pitch black…Remus only shut the door a fraction, so some light from the hall was cast into the room. She could just make out his very agitated features.

"Buffy…you're the slayer…you've dealt with things in the past…" he began hurriedly, switching the goblet from hand to hand, apparently not realising he was doing so.

"Just _a_ slayer actually…now all the oth-"

"Yes yes" he intervened abruptly "…Buffy, did Willow tell you at all about…anything about me?"

Buffy's frowned hardened. She felt her feet shift into a defensive stance. This was getting creepy.

"No…" she said slowly, "Why?"

Remus sighed. He inwardly thanked Willow for being so trustworthy, but also cursed her silence.

"Buffy I'm a werewolf." He whispered.

The statement lingered in the air. Buffy felt a wave of relief pass over her. She'd expected worse, like he was possibly some evil re-incarnation of a carrot…or god knows what. Buffy was still getting used to this whole new world of a different type of magic from the other side of the globe. Speaking of carrots…she remembered yet another unusual redhead from back home. Oz…and now she understood a fraction of what he was going through. She went into 'research mode', as Giles would call it.

"It's nearly sunset…" she started worriedly.

"I know…I know. I'm sorry I didn't tell you before, but…it's awkward…"

"Of course." She agreed. Werewolf or not, Remus was still a nice guy. She felt nothing against him.

"Buffy, for the spell to bring Sirius back, we need blood from someone who was there…I've drank my potion, which helps with…things, I'll be docile, so to speak." His face crinkled as he considered what he was about to ask her. Then he continued.

"You've dealt with werewolves before. Do you think tonight you could somehow get some of my blood?" It all tumbled out very quickly, and Remus fearfully awaited her response.

Buffy was still confused.

"Sure…but why don't you use some of your…regular blood?"

Again, Remus sighed.

"Well I've already sorted that, but I've got a very sneaky suspicion that it'll only work if it's got ALL of my blood…both types…so just to make sure…if you understand?"

Buffy nodded.

"What do you want me to do?" she asked, eyes focused on his.

With a look of relief on his face, Remus smiled, a very tiny smile.

"Once I've transformed, I think…I'll probably fall asleep at some point…could you come into the room I'm in and just…well…" he raised his hand to the light to reveal a fresh cut across the back of his hand, "here's one I made earlier."

Buffy couldn't help but chuckle.

"OK…so that'll be on your paw?" she enquired, "I'll just re-open it?"

He nodded.

"Thank you Buffy. I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner…it's not something I generally broadcast…"

Buffy shrugged.

"It's OK. No biggie…I'm really sorry if I hurt you."

"Just…" he looked terrified, "get out as fast as you can if anything goes wrong?"

She nodded, took hold of his hand and gave it a very gentle squeeze. No more was said. No more was needed.

* * *

At five minutes past midnight, the corridors of the house were empty. Doors were locked.

"It's only until we locate that stray doxy…we don't want it getting into any of your rooms." Mrs. Weasley lied to a bemused Andrew and Dawn. Harry, Ron and Hermione said nothing to obstruct this story. A mere glance at each other showed their mutual understanding. Of course, Mrs. Weasley slipped a key into Buffy's hand as she came to "tell them to lock their doors", and she hastily whispered "library" to her before flitting of to find Fred and George.

Now, Buffy stood nervously outside of the closed library door, the key hot and heavy in her left hand. In her right she held a small vial she'd plucked from the kitchen before bed, and strapped to her ankle was a knife. With a small gulp, she fumbled with the lock, opened the door silently before peeking into the room. The full moon had finally risen at about eleven, and so Buffy prayed Remus had fallen asleep by now. Nothing stirred. Buffy stepped inside, and immediately spied a large canine-shaped body spread out, sticking out from behind a stack of dusty books.

The creature moved slightly, and Buffy spotted the paw/hand Remus had indicated earlier lying outstretched, away from the body. Perfect. Step by step, Buffy edged closer to the werewolf, and crouched down to be at a better height. She shuffled silently to its side, and listened as it slowly breathed in and out. Definitely asleep; but the werewolf's nostrils twitched, and Buffy knew she had to work fast. Drawing the knife from her leg, she cut across the old would as quick as a flash. It flinched and began to stir…

Buffy held the vial close to the open wound and tilted it to coax the blood into the bottle. Minute droplets trickled painstakingly slowly down around the rim, and descended the oval shaped container before settling at the bottom like a tiny red bead…

The werewolf opened its eyelids. Buffy back away instantaneously, and promptly fell backwards over a heavy book. The vial still gripped in her hand, held high above her head in an attempt to prevent damage, she picked herself up and calmly edged towards the door. It watched her…its beady eyes boring into hers. The werewolf bared its teeth and growled as it spotted its bloody paw…but still it did not move. She slammed the door and locked it as swiftly as she could. It was then she realised how much her heart was beating. It had been a while since she'd had to do anything slayer-like…and the sudden adrenaline rush was hard to take. At twenty-four, Buffy wondered if she was getting too old for the job...she was one of the oldest slayers to survive that she knew of. One look at the blood in the tiny vial, and she smiled. Mission accomplished. Too old? Nah.

_AN: I did wonder if this chapter was legitimate so I had to sit and work it out. The time scale is a little confusing. I think if the full moon was two weeks before Remus chatted with Harry, and then it took the Scoobies a few days (say 4?) to get to the nearest airport…a day for the flight, a day to sleep off their jet lag, the day Snape came, the day Willow saw Dumbledore, and then they've spent some time at Grimmauld Place between Chapters 10 and 11, then that's about 28 days since the last full moon…according to my lovely Spike calendar that should be about right. Sorry if any of you got a bit confused!_


	13. The Ministry of Magic

_Wow…long time no update! But I've finished this at last! So I hope you enjoy the last few chapters! Charlie_

**Chapter 13**

**The Ministry of Magic**

Early next morning, Mrs. Weasley gently shook Willow awake. After a quick shower and breakfast, Willow found herself stood before the fireplace in the large stone kitchen of Grimmauld Place, dressed in a set of navy blue robes that Tonks had left for her the night before ("To blend in better…and the colour really suits you!")

"We're not going straight to the Ministry from here," explained Mr. Weasley, straightening his own set of robes and fiddling with the lid of a pot he had retrieved from a cupboard somewhere, "We're going to my house first, and then we'll go to the Ministry. It's easier that way…just in case the Floo networks are still being watched…"

"Floo?" Willow asked suppressing a small smile at the unusual word. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley proceeded to tell her how Floo powder worked, and eager to try it out, Willow stepped forward.

"Now speak very clearly dear," Mrs. Weasley advised as Willow ducked and stood in the opening, "We don't want you getting lost…say it nice and loud, 'The Burrow'…"

With a gulp of nervous anticipation, Willow collected her gritty handful of 'Floo powder' and said as clearly as she could…

"The Burrow!"

Automatically throwing down her powder, Willow caught a glimpse of the brilliant green flames that came up around her before a great pulling motion forced her down; Willow felt herself spinning around and around through a roar of emerald light. Willow slammed her eyes shut to avoid the nausea that was steadily rising through her body, before, with a loud and quite painful bump,Willow landed bottom first onto the hard floor of a room. She opened her eyes and climbed shakily to her feet, dusting soot off her clothes and rubbing her throbbing behind. She was in a rather small and cramped kitchen, which was impeccably neat. In the centre of the room, a large table not unlike the one at Grimmauld Place was surrounded by a large number of chairs. She smiled inwardly as she realised this was definitely the Weasley's house. Willow was just examining an odd looking clock when Mr. Weasley stepped gracefully out of the fireplace, obviously used to the unusual method of transport. He beamed at Willow.

"Ah! Home Sweet Home…" he gazed proudly around his kitchen before motioning her back over to the fireplace, taking a flowerpot from off the mantelpiece.

"Same again Willow, but this time say 'The Ministry of Magic, London', and when you get there, get out of the way pretty sharpish…"

Willow nervously scooped up another handful of Floo powder and did as she was told. The sucking spinning sensation began again, but after a few seconds, Willow bumped back into another fireplace with a small 'whoosh' noise that amused her somewhat. Scrambling up and out of the way she almost flew into a man walking hurriedly away, up the long corridor she found herself in. She had to jump to her left to avoid him, and she stood in a small empty space as people hustled around her. Willow could only gawp at her surroundings. It was utterly amazing. She was stood in a spectacular and gleaming hall with a high dazzling crystalline blue ceiling, inlaid with an assortment of ever changing golden symbols that looked rather like runes. Willow could imagine herself spending hours in the dark panelled and polished place attempting to translate their code. Not nearly as dusty as last time, Willow continued to stare around the atrium of the Ministry of Magic. She'd entered via one of a few dark fireplaces set into the wall. Opposite her were small queues of people waiting to leave via other fireplaces set into the wall. Mr. Weasley hurried over to her as soon as he arrived from the fireplace.

"Welcome to the Ministry of Magic…"

People hurried to and fro clattering as they went about their business…the ceiling ever glinting in the lights hung around the place. Willow vaguely listened as Mr. Weasley explained about how they were underground, pausing now and then as people greeted him with a hearty "Mornin' Arthur".

Willow spotted Tonks (now with her hair short, spiky and bubblegum pink once again; matching her equally pink robes) and a bald and tall black wizard chattering away stood before a large golden fountain a little way down the hall. She and Mr. Weasley headed over quickly. Willow looked up at the fountain, which depicted a group of dull golden statues in the middle of a pool. A wizard and a witch, what Willow recognised as a centaur and two other small strange little creatures all stood in a crowd, looking oddly ominous as water squirted from parts of them. A few cracks flawed what once had been perfect statues. Coins sparkled from the bottom of the pool, and a sign read 'ALL PROCEEDS FROM THE FOUNTAIN OF MAGICAL BRETHREN WILL BE GIVEN TO ST MUNGO'S HOSPITAL FOR MAGICAL MALADIES AND INJURIES'. Mr. Weasley upon seeing Willow examine the fountain spoke up.

"A very worthy cause. They all had to be repaired after…" he trailed off, then added, "They've never really been the same since."

After a small pause Mr. Weasley blinked back to the present, he smiled again and introduced Willow.

"This is Kingsley Shacklebolt…Kinglsey this is Willow Rosenberg."

A strong and silent handshake and Willow looked back at Mr. Weasley, who was now turning towards a set of golden gates at the end of the hall. He looked back at the others before muttering quietly

"Right, let's go…come on."

Grabbing Willow's arm gently, he led her over; accompanied by the others to the gates, a rather guilty expression on his face as they sped up when passing a desk on the left that was beneath a sign reading 'Security'. Tonks broke away from them suddenly, and headed to the desk; where she quickly engaged the rather bored looking wizard in conversation about, from Willow could overhear, Gobstone championships next Tuesday.

Mr. Weasley breathed a sigh of relief as they finally arrived in one of the many lifts Willow had seen. They stepped in, and Kingsley offered Willow another broad smile as he reached forward and pressed the down button. She looked up to see a few lilac paper aeroplanes flitting around above her head. She didn't care to ask, and merely smiled again, thinking of how Xander would love one of them. In High School, making paper planes had been one of his favourite pastimes, especially when they were trying to study. Before the doors had fully clattered shut, Tonks managed to leap in, grinning at the trio.

"Sorry about that, I just distracted him with my charms…" She flicked her head theatrically, urging a chuckle from them all. As they descended, Willow could feel the nerves in her stomach rise.

"It's very quiet…" murmured Mr. Weasley, fidgeting with his robes.

"Too quiet?" asked Kingsley questioningly.

Tonks shook her head.

"No. We're a bit earlier than usual, and besides…nobody goes down here much anymore after…"

Willow didn't know if Tonks had trailed off or if she was interrupted, as a ringing female voice announced…

"Department of Mysteries."

The gates open and Willow found herself face to face with a blonde snotty looking woman. She cast a scathing look over the gathering of people before striding past them into the lift. Mr. Weasley once again took hold of Willow's arm and led her out of the lift, avoiding the gaze of the tall, slim woman, who now stood behind them. Tonks and Kingsley exchanged looks that seemed to be a mixture of worry and curiousness. Willow waited for an explanation as the small group walked down a plain black corridor towards a door at the end. It seemed none was to come, until the clanking of the ascending lift in the background had disappeared.

"What the hell is Narcissa Malfoy doing down here?! You don't think-"

"No Tonks…she's probably just snooping about…trying to find evidence to get Lucius off or something." Mr. Weasley looked flustered, and so Willow didn't press the matter further. They finally had reached the dark door at the end, and Mr. Weasley gulped, as it swung open immediately to reveal another plain black room, this time a circular one. Many plain black doors were spaced around, candles lit dimly in the sections between, reflected in the sparkling marble floor. As Tonks and Kinglsey stepped in behind, wands at the ready, the door behind them shut. It was very dark, the only light coming from the candles, when suddenly with a small rumble, Willow watched in awe as the room began to rotate. After a few seconds, it stopped, and all was still. Tonks' eyes flitted from here to there before she pointed her wand directly at a door to their right.

"That one."

Willow wondered in amazement how she knew which way they were to go, for it was all a puzzle to her. As they walked slowly over, she noticed though that the candle to the door's left was a little smaller than the others, only by about a centimetre, as if it had burned lower…or as if someone had perhaps tampered with it. Willow guessed the latter. They stepped over the threshold, and Willow found herself stood at the very top of the room where Sirius Black had died.

It was as if she was back in the Pensieve, only now seeing things from another perspective. It was empty, and Willow heard every shuffle echo around her. There was a stifling atmosphere, and the huge room looked oddly sterilised, unlike what she had seen in Dumbledore's office. Tonks, stood a little to Willow's left, began to breathe heavily and quickly. Unexpectedly she turned and left through the door from whence they had came, Kinglsey following her. Mr. Weasley stepped back to lean against the back wall, his head bowed.

Willow had to shut her eyes for a moment before allowing her gaze to fall upon the archway in the middle of the cavernous place, stood proudly on it's dais. The tattered curtain fluttered ever so slightly, and Willow saw flashes of Sirius' death in her own mind, making her jump suddenly and her heartbeat quicken. She cautiously stepped down each tier from their place at the top, climbing cautiously over the benches, her every move reverberated loudly around her. Reaching the bottom, Willow walked slowly over to the arch. Stepping up onto the dais, she turned around…oddly she could feel the gaze of many people upon her. Glancing up, she saw Mr. Weasley still had his head bowed. Frowning, Willow ran her hand along the side of the arch; feeling it's rough and crumbling stonework. Not even a speck of dust came off in her hand as she took it away, but she felt the power run through her veins. Sinister as it were, the archway entranced her, and Willow watched mesmerized at the billowing veil, drifting to and fro in an invisible breeze. It was then that she heard the whispers from behind it. Another glance up at Mr. Weasley told her she was stood quite alone. Peeking around the arch she still saw no one. The sound was coming from inside the arch…behind the veil…

"Willow?"

Mr. Weasley called to her, glancing nervously around and then down at her.

"Come on…we need to go now. Are you familiar with…everything?"

She nodded clearly to him, and watched as he headed out the door. Before Willow stepped down, she caressed the cloth ever so slightly with her hand…felt its softness…

"Sirius…"

* * *

Sirius spun around quickly, much to Spike's alarm. The vampire stepped back.

"Bloody hell watch where you're going…"

"What was that?!" Sirius cried, ignoring Spike's comment. Spike was not the one who replied.

"She's coming for you."


	14. The Calm Before the Storm

**Chapter 14**

****

**The Calm Before the Storm**

Buffy was seriously reminded of the legend of King Arthur. The crowd gathered around the table at Grimmauld place was totally silent. It was anybody's guess who was going to speak first. All the inhabitants of the house had gathered in the kitchen. Seated around the table, there was Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Bill, Fred and George, Andrew, Moody, Remus, Tonks, Xander and Willow. Lined around the room stood Dawn, Hermione, Ginny, Ron and Harry. All had gathered for a final meeting. But nobody had spoken yet…it was as if they were waiting for something…

Finally, as if on cue, a soft knocking was heard from the hall. Remus, still looking rather pale, shot up and darted out to answer the door. Buffy looked at her compatriots. Willow looked solidly determined, but still slightly apprehensive. Nobody could blame her…for she had much to face. Xander and Tonks sat close together, provoking Buffy's lips to curl into a small grin. The Weasley twins both were worrying their lips, neither noticing they were mirroring each other. Andrew was watching them in amazement, still slightly wary about the troublesome duo after his house elf experience. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley sat equally stony faced, as did their elder son. Buffy turned to her sister. Dawn was muttering something to Hermione who nodded and passed on the message to Ginny. The three girls all seemed quite prepared for what was to come, and Buffy felt quite proud of Dawn. Ron Weasley was fiddling with something on his shirt, glancing around ever so often. Stood next to Hermione, he looked up and noticed Buffy's gaze. His hand flew from his shirt, and brushed against Hermione's. With a start, Ron's ears flushed and his hand flew up to smooth his hair. Buffy grinned again, and turned to watch Harry. The boy-who-lived stood stock still, his green eyes focused on the back of Willow's head. His scar could just be seen through his tousled black hair, and he seemed lost in his own world, deep in thought about what was to come…was he _really_ going to see Sirius again?

Voices drifted into the kitchen and Remus stood in the doorway smiling slightly. Two figures stood behind him. Stepping forward into the light of the room, Snape grimly edged into a corner, and folded his arms across his chest, black robes billowing. The other figure came in…

"Giles!!"

Rupert Giles beamed at his slayer. Buffy rushed over and hugged her watcher, who she noted, looked no different from when he had left them. Xander stood up too, but Willow just looked up into Giles' observant eyes that were focused on her; relief flooded over her like a tidal wave, mixed in with all the other emotions she was feeling.

"Buffy…" Giles returned her embrace and turned to hug Xander. The rest of the room seemed to relax slightly as all made some small greeting to their newcomer. After a few minutes of chatter, everyone was settled into their places again, ready to properly begin the meeting. The tension in the room was almost gone…but it fell back into it's own place as Remus, standing up, began to speak.

"OK…so here are the final plans…"

He looked around to make sure everyone was listening, before continuing.

"We'll get some rest in the day. At about eight o-clock, myself, Severus, Willow, Moody, Rupert…"

Xander snickered. Remus glanced at him. Xander stopped his guffawing, and he continued.

"Rupert, Buffy and Bill will head to the Ministry of Magic…where we will perform the spell…"

"What's going to happen?"

Everyone span to face Harry, who was now looking directly at Lupin, his eyes expectant. Remus paused for a moment, and glanced down at the floor…

"Harry…"

"No. Please Prof-…please…tell me…us…what's the spell…" he sighed, "What's going to happen?"

Again, it took Remus a little time to answer before he looked up into Harry's eyes, all gazes upon the pair.

"OK," he spoke very quietly, "We are using a spell quite similar to the one that Pettigrew used to bring Lord Voldemort back. We need some different articles…that's all. Willow is going to…perform the spell from behind the veil."

All was silent for a minute. Ron frowned.

"How are you going to do that?" said the redheaded boy.

"It's quite simple really," Giles said, a twinkle in his eye as he continued to watchWillow, "We're just not going to let Willow go all the way through."

"How?!" Hermione asked incredulously, her face anxious as she received this new knowledge.

"Well…Sirius fell through all the way…nothing stopped him. We're going to keep a hold of Willow, and pull her…and Sirius…back."

All was silent for a moment more. The younger generation seemed somewhat satisfied with this explanation. Remus continued.

"Once we have him, someone will apparate back here with Sirius. The others will leave through the fireplaces to the Weasley household...and then return back here. Anyone who has stayed here should be prepared for our arrival. Dumbledore will be keeping an eye on things, and then coming here later… is everything clear?"

All nodded.

"Right…you lot off to bed," Mrs. Weasley stood up and nodded her head at the youths lining the walls, "And you too Fred and George Weasley."

With a unanimous grumble, the group left. Once they were gone, Remus spoke quietly again…

"We do not know what state Sirius will be in. Willow…just get him back…quickly…"

The redheaded witch nodded. A hush fell over the adults for a short moment.

"Right!" spoke Moody, "We have some final things to do…Miss Summers I need to show you how to use Floo powder…Mr. Giles you know already…a quick de-briefing for those who haven't been down there…"

Willow found herself rising from the table with the others, urged by Mrs. Weasley to get an early night. For she would most definitely be needing it.


	15. Into the Breach

**Chapter 15**

**Into the Breach**

Words could not describe what Willow was feeling. Stood in the hall, clutching the deep velvet purple bag that Remus had handed to her a few moments before, all she knew was that she was ready to do this, despite what her churning stomach said.

"Do you know fully what you are doing?" Remus had asked her upon giving it to her.

"Yes."

"Will?" Xander came down the stairs, looking almost as pale as Remus had done. Willow could only offer him a shaky smile. Her friend came and stood next to her.

"Buff's just choosing a nice jacket to wear… " He rolled his eyes, before stopping and sighing, still smiling though.

"Willow, I'm not going to give you the 'you can do this' speech. Because you know you can. Just…" Xander paused, and embraced his friend, "Just be careful OK?"

"O-OK."

"And keep away from the light. And if you see a killer clown anywhere in there then you get the hell out of there OK?"

Willow laughed. Xander smiled again, squeezing her hand before heading through into the kitchen. Buffy watched from the top of the stairs, before slowly heading down them. She and Willow said nothing, for they had both said enough the night before. They had stayed up late discussing it over and over until they were certain of what they were doing. The clock chimed. Eight o-clock. With a small look of encouragement, Buffy took Willow's hand, and they both went into the kitchen, ready for the adventure.

* * *

"Oof!"

"Shhhh!"

"Sorry."

Buffy had landed, again, face first as she fell out of the fireplace. Moody's strong gripped pulled her up towards where he and Snape were stood, as Willow stumbled out behind her followed by Remus, Bill and Giles, all who stepped out easily. Buffy would usually have grumbled, but this was neither the time nor the place. They had come from The Weasley's home to here. The Ministry of Magic. The large and pristine atrium was silent, apart from their hushed whispers and footsteps. Dimmed lanterns were their only light, and Buffy glanced warily around, expecting someone to jump out at them from the gloom. Nobody did.

A glimmer of gold caught her eye…Buffy saw someone, and immediately fell into attack position. There were figures at the end of the corridor nearby. The tinkling of water reached her ears, and a hand fell heavy on her shoulder.

"It's a fountain…statues of people." Snape said tonelessly. Buffy sighed, relieved a little.

"OK…this way…" whispered Remus, and they crowd walked quickly, past the golden fountain of people, towards a set of golden gates, their footsteps resounding loudly around them.

"You know…after a big security breach like they had a few months ago…you'd expect them to have something…" muttered an aggravated Moody as he spotted the empty security desk.

"Come on Alastor…this is Fudge we're talking about…" Bill whispered back.

The seven of them clambered into a lift, and with a press of a button and a horrifically loud clanking noise, they began to descend. Buffy, from previous talks with Remus, knew they were underground, and had the horrible inclination that if they went any further, they would surely be in hell…

A crisp voice sang out…

"Department of Mysteries."

The grilles slid noisily open and all stepped out, hurrying along the corridor to a plain black door at the end. Willow could feel the heat inside her rising as they grew ever closer to their destination. The door swung open again…and a screeching alarm echoed around them. Buffy flung her hands over her ears, but still the noise did not cease. It stayed constant, not even muffled.

"This didn't happen before!!" Willow cried, eyes wide in fret. Remus scanned around quickly, as did Bill and Moody. Giles also covered his ears, but the look on his face told Buffy she wasn't alone in failing to suppress the noise. It was Snape who, with a look of contempt, pointed his wand at the door.

"Silencio!"

And indeed, the noise stopped.

"Thank you Severus…" Remus breathed quickly. Snape only glared.

"A bloody alarm that can be stopped with a silencing charm," tutted Moody, pushing past to enter the circular room beyond, "Useless!"

They all followed him through, and as Giles shut the door behind them, Buffy heard a great growl from beneath her feet. Her mouth fell open slightly as the perfect black room began to rotate. Eventually it stopped.

"Crap." She said.

The others seemed unperturbed, and Buffy was surprised to see Willow lead them to a door on their right. It was as if they were gliding over water; the blue candles shimmered, reflected on the marble beneath them. She trailed in after everyone again as Willow opened the door, and saw only black. The door closed with a small click behind her, and another rumble from behind told her the room must have rotated again.

"Lumos…"

"Lumos."

"Lumos!"

"Lumos," Remus spoke last. Four small dots of light illuminated the room.

"Why is it dark?" Willow asked, her voice echoing around them.

"Protocol. Dad said that they do it in all the rooms here now, after…everything…that happened. So it's not as easy to see…" Bill reached and grabbed the bag he'd been carrying on his back, his fang earring sparkling in his own wand light. Out of it he took a long coil rope and some candles. Remus began to light them with his wand. The place they were stood in was becoming a little lighter, and Buffy looked down to see the outline of something that looked like a huge arch, with something fluttering…

"OK…Willow…come on…" Remus' voice was hoarse, and picking up the rope and a candle, he and Willow headed down to the dais. Snape followed a little while after them, but stopped at a bench about halfway down the tiered room. Bill gulped quietly, and headed off around the room muttering something about finding lanterns. Moody stumped after him. Buffy turned to Giles. The man was staring down after Willow and Remus.

"Giles?" whispered the Slayer.

"Yes?"

"N-Nothing, no…well…" Buffy turned to him, and he looked up from whence he was staring, into her eyes.

"Buffy. Everything will be fine."

Nothing more was said. Buffy watched her friend disappear into the shadows…

Willow tied the rope into a firm knot as it looped around her waist. Remus was stretching the rest of it out, tying the very end to a bench nearby, knotting and double knotting. The rest of the loose rope he grabbed and looped around his hand securely. Looking up at her, he did not smile as he usually did.

"Have you got everything?"

"Yes. I checked."

"You know what you are doing?"

"Yes."

"Pull three times and I'll pull you back."

"OK."

"Good Luck Willow."

Willow nodded for what she felt was surely the one-thousandth time. Then, her palms sweaty, gripping her bag, she walked quickly forward, stepped up onto the dais, and swept silently through the veil…


	16. Beyond

****

Chapter 16

**Beyond**

****

Willow felt as though she'd been hit by a bucket of cold water. She could feel the soft, silken caress of the tattered veil as she had swept through it. She didn't realise she'd closed her eyes. Gingerly, she opened them. Silence. Glaring white. It surrounded her, a never-ending desert of brilliant pure white light. It hurt her eyes to stay looking at one place for a long length of time, so she had to keep glancing here and there. The rope trailed out behind her a little, before it disappeared into nothingness.

"Hello?" she called out. There was no echo. There was no reply.

* * *

"Did you hear that? Did you?" Sirius' eyes were wide. Spike looked confused. He shook his head. 

"Not a thing mate…"

Sirius spun around once, and then stood still, his ears pricked up, reminding Spike of a dog listening for something. He thought it was best if he didn't say anything. But someone else did…

"You wouldn't hear it anyway…"

* * *

Willow moved her foot out around her, feeling for any obtrusions in front of her. Wherever she was, the ground seemed solid. She knelt down and placed the bag next to her, bringing out the vital items for the spell. First, Willow placed the small cauldron before her. It felt surprisingly light wherever she was, as if it floated a little before settling on the white floor. She next took out the vial of water, and filled the pewter bowl with it. Then she reached inside the velvet once more and removed the other items. Now she was ready. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes. Then opened them. She reached, and picked up the tattered and charred piece of fabric she'd been told to use first…it had been cut from an old and dusty tapestry, and it looked rather as if someone had burnt it with a cigarette. 

"Name of the lost…your own title…you will call yourself forth…"

Willow dropped the little piece of material into the cauldron. It slipped gently to the bottom, hardly stirring the water. The suddenly, with a hiss, the water shone a beautiful azure.

* * *

Sirius frowned as he felt the hairs on the back of his neck prickle…and rise…as if someone were watching him…

* * *

Next, Willow took the vial of blood that Remus had collected. She hadn't asked much about this. She hadn't wanted to. Taking off the lid she spoke the next line… 

"Blood of the witness…spectator of death…you will observe the resurrection…"

Willow dripped all the blood she could into the cauldron; and with another hiss, the concoction turned a brilliant shade of magenta.

* * *

Back out in the room where the arch stood…Remus felt something stir inside him…an itch behind his eyeball…

* * *

Willow picked up the last and by far largest item. A framed picture of Bellatrix Lestrange, it's glass shattered, her dark and heavy-lidded face gazed up at Willow, causing her to convulse a little. 

"Image of the murderer…icon of evil…you will revive your victim…"

As quickly as possible, Willow placed what she could of the frame into the cauldron, it's top half still protruded slightly. The she waited.

Willow was quite shocked. The mixture did not hiss. It did not bring Sirius forth to her. It didn't even explode, as she had half expected it to. All it did was turn an un-penetrative shade of black, very much like ink. She looked around frantically, but still all she could see was a glaring white. Willow could feel the hot, sticky, sick wave of panic wash over her, starting from the pit of her stomach. Her hands began to shake.

"S-Sirius?"

"He's not coming."

Willow looked up, and her mouth fell open.

* * *

"Hey…where did she go?" Sirius asked, looking around again. 

Spike shrugged.

"Probably to talk to…whoever has come for you…?"

* * *

Willow felt the tears sting her eyes, and then one trickle down her cheek. Still kneeling, she gazed up at the gorgeous woman before her…familiar dirty blonde hair…looking the same as she had the day she had gone… 

"T-Tara?"

Tara nodded.

"Wh…what are you doing here?"

"I'm here to help you."

"What's going on?"

"He can't see you."

"Why?!" Willow asked in wonder.

"You're on different planes. He went one beyond."

Willow paused, taking this in.

"Why are you here baby?" she asked, wiping another tear from her face.

"It's my decision Willow. I'm here to help you."

Willow opened her mouth again to speak…but Tara interrupted.

"It doesn't matter what happened in the past. You're stronger now."

Willow nodded silently, tears still falling. She looked up into the face of her deceased girlfriend, a new hope filling her.

"Can you come with-?"

"No. I can't. I'm sorry. I love you...but I…I died Willow. It's final. His isn't."

Willow nodded again, feeling as if her heart was breaking for a fraction of a second. She examined the cauldron before her for a while. Sniffing she looked back up at Tara, who had now moved around…and was looking off into the distance a little to Willow's left.

"Where is he?" Willow asked, getting to her feet.

"He's one beyond…" Tara frowned suddenly…and then shouted loud, a ringing voice that this time echoed around, as if it had entered many surrounding invisible rooms.

"YOU'VE GOT TO BELIEVE!"

* * *

"Believe?! Bloody believe in what!?" Sirius shouted back. 

Spike stood next to him, and sighed at his companion.

"Someone's come for you...or…something. Sirius?"

Sirius turned to regard the blonde vampire.

"What?" he spat rather sharply.

"Just…" but Spike said no more…he felt a roaring pain in his heart. He started to scream as it burnt him, and the last thing he saw before it all glared an agonizing white was Sirius' alarmed face. And then…a whirlwind of torture…it changed to black…

* * *

In LA, Angel was debriefing his team. Rubbing his chin, he began… 

"Yes, we are. We're gonna change things. We came to Wolfram and Hart because it's a powerful weapon."

He picked up an envelope from his desk and ripped it open.

"We'll deal..."

An amulet fell out and plopped onto the floor near his feet.

"…with whatever comes next."

The amulet began to shine…and a huge black swirl of dust and ash swept everything around it. Sparkles of orange flittered and glittered within, and a skeleton began to form…and then shape into a man…

After a few moments, Spike was stood, screaming, right in the amulet's place. He doubled over in pain, breathing heavily, face gripped in anguish.

"Spike?" Wesley spoke up softly.

"Spike." Angel finished.

* * *

Sirius gawked at the empty space where Spike had stood moments before. 

"Oh god…" he murmured to himself.

"BELIEVE!" Tara's voice rang out again from somewhere.

"In what!? IN WHAT?! TARA!!" Sirius only knew her name because Spike had known her…she was here to help…someone had come for him…

* * *

"Willow…you've got to believe…you've done it…" 

Willow, utterly bemused, did not understand.

"Baby…I did! I did the spell! He...he should be here!"

"No!" cried Tara, "You did it last time! With Buffy! You can do this! Believe!"

Willow thought back to when she'd brought Buffy back…she saw herself kneeling before Buffy's grave…saw her looking into Buffy's primal eyes…

Willow threw herself down onto the hard bright floor, her knees colliding painfully. She stretched out her hands, and placed them on the surface beneath her. She looked up…believing…

And she saw.

She was still in the dazzling white place…but in front of her…her hands were in fresh soil…she was kneeling on a grave. The gravestone stood before her…

"SIRIUS BLACK"

Willow dug her hands into the damp moist soil and believed with all her might…she brought Buffy back…she was bringing Sirius back…

* * *

The light directly in front of him got brighter…Sirius reached forward…

* * *

Willow felt something…she blindly tried to grasp it…and felt her hand connect with his…power surged through her again…she shut her eyes…and pulled upwards with all her might… 

Sirius Black fell forward onto his knees. A girl fell backwards in front of him. Panting, he felt as if he'd just been pulled through a vacuum. He gasped, catching his breath…

"You did it Willow! Now go!"

The hands grasped him again…gripped his chest…

"I love you baby."

"I love you too."

Willow felt herself getting dizzy…she yanked the rope dangling in mid air…three hard pulls…

* * *

"NOW!" 

Remus, Snape and Bill pulled on the cord with all their might, and the two figures fell backwards out of the veil…landing with a thud on the rough stone floor.

"OW!" cried Sirius, rubbing his head as he sat up.

He looked around and saw a girl lying unconscious next to him, a rope tied loosely around her, her hair a brilliant white, like the room they had been in…and then it suddenly turned a flaming red. Was she a Weasley? He looked up into the concerned face of Remus…

"Sirius?"

His friend looked as though he'd seen a ghost. Judging on what he knew, Sirius guessed that this was exactly what Remus thought he was looking at...

"Remus?" he said, his voice shaking slightly.

"Good Lord…we did it…Sirius…are you all right?"

"I…think so. My head hurts…a lot…"

Remus scooped up the man and embraced him. Sirius hugged back.

With a sound like a twig snapping…they were gone. Bill had untied the rope and gathered Willow up in his arms. Buffy and Giles ran over to check her.

"She's out cold," Giles checked her pulse, "She'll be OK…come on…we need to go."

Moody, Buffy, Snape, Giles and Bill looked once again around at the room. With a simultaneous shudder, they began to climb out of the room…out into the room beyond…out of it all.

_AN: I'm not an Angel fan at all but I think it's suitable that Spike went there next. By the way, that's just my interpretation of what it's like behind the veil. I hope you all think it's OK._


	17. Deeds Done

**Chapter 17**

****

**Deeds Done**

****

Willow blinked her eyes open. She was floating…in a room…and there was the golden statue from the Ministry Atrium…the wizard…gazing at her from above…

"Hello Miss Rosenberg," Dumbledore said softly, beaming at her.

"Hey…Bumblebee…"

Dumbledore chuckled a little.

"You're still very confused. I just came to say congratulations…you did it. Well done. Sirius Black is alive and well…an innocent man saved once again. By you. Thank you Willow."

"You're welcome…" she replied hoarsely, "Where's Buff-?"

"Here Willow! Hey!" Buffy rushed to her friend's bedside and grabbed her hand, smiling broadly at the witch.

"You did so well Will…" Xander spoke up from her right, and Willow turned to see him standing on the other side of her bed.

"Thanks…"

She heard Dumbledore say something about her getting rest…before she fell into a peaceful sleep once more.

* * *

It was a tearful reunion downstairs. Twenty-four hours had passed since Sirius had returned. Remus has immediately had him examined by Dumbledore, and after an explanation concerning what had been going on since he'd "gone" as they referred to it, he was packed off to bed. In the morning, he'd stumbled down the familiar staircase into the kitchen where he'd been launched upon by…

"Harry."

Harry gripped Sirius' neck.

"Sirius...please...don't leave me again."

"I won't. I'll kill that bloody house elf."

Mrs. Weasley sniffed into her handkerchief, as Sirius greeted Ron, Hermione, Tonks, Fred, George, Ginny…and everyone he'd left behind. He met Dawn Summers, welcoming her with a hearty handshake. Buffy and Xander entered the kitchen to find the group laughing at something Sirius had said. The man looked up, and tilted his head slightly.

"You must be Buffy Summers…and Xander Harris?" he glanced meaningfully at Tonks, who blushed. Her hair was a short and spiky style, but this time brunette.

Buffy nodded. Sirius smiled.

"You…and you…your friend…you're all amazing…thank you so much."

"Aww…shucks." Xander began. Sirius laughed, his bark like laugh, so full of life. Harry could hardly believe that his godfather was here. With him. Alive. Now he felt stronger...he felt that he could somehow face what was to come.

The group continued to chatter away, Sirius talking eagerly about his adventure "beyond". It was his way of coping.

"Well it was better than Azkaban…I wasn't hungry or anything…and I wasn't alone."

"Who were you with?" Hermione asked curiously.

"Oh, some vampire…with a soul."

"What?" Buffy's mouth fell open, and she nearly slid off her chair.

"Yeah…his name was Spike."

"Yo-You're joking?" Buffy sputtered.

"No. He was…OK I suppose."

Buffy stood up and left the room quickly…leaving Xander to explain to the bemused bunch about Spike.

"Really?" Sirius said once he'd finished. "I never knew he knew you lot...it's a small world after all."

* * *

Giles was stood in the hall on his phone.

"Right. Thank you. Yes. Thanks. I'll tell her. Goodbye."

Hanging up, he turned to Buffy.

"That was Wesley…Spike just arrived in LA…he came out of the amulet…"

A beat.

"Buffy are you allright?"

Buffy nearly fell over upon hearing this information.

"I'm fine…I…I'm just gonna go lie down."

And she headed upstairs without another word.

* * *

Willow was sat on her bed. Having just gotten dressed and sitting up, she was desperate to climb back into her bed again. She felt very sore and stiff…but satisfied with herself. A knock at her door caused her to look up. Expecting to see either Buffy or Xander, she started a littlw when she saw it was Sirius peeking in.

"Oh…you're up and about…"

He smiled, and Willow again saw the once handsome face shine briefly behind the fixed look that Azkaban had scarred him with.

"Hey…are you OK?" Willow asked, standing steadily.

"I'm fine..." he glanced around the room, familiarising himself with the place, before turning back to her.

"I came to thank you Willow. What you've done is amazing. I've never felt so alive. Pardon the pun."

"I have to ask Sirius…where were you?"

Sirius' face puckered in thought.

"I don't know…but I'm here now. And I'm very happy..."

He reached out a hand…

"…Thank you."

Willow shook it, and grinned.

"It was nothing really…"


	18. Final Farewells

**Chapter 18**

**Final Farewells**

****

The next morning, Buffy was still reeling from the information Sirius and Giles had given her. She was still unsure what to do...however the decision was soon made for her.

"Buffy?" Giles entered her room. "Faith just called. She and Robin Wood arrived in Cleveland with a few others a few days ago…and there's a lot of trouble. Vampires running loose...they're asking for us again."

Buffy nodded silently.

"OK…we'll go. We'll go home."

A few minutes after Giles had left, there was another knock at her door. Looking up she saw Remus gazing in nervously.

"Hello Buffy…I just passed Giles…you...you're leaving?" he frowned softly, "Are you allright?"

Buffy shook her head.

"Sirius…he said that Spike…"

"Spike?"

Buffy proceeded to explain to Remus about what had happened all that time ago. As she did, she felt herself letting go of the demons that haunted her…Spike. Remus listened patiently. Than he took her hand.

"Buffy…you don't have to do anything you don't want. You know that."

"But…he saved us all."

"You saved us all. And we're so thankful. You have no idea…" he trailed off, itching his still bandaged hand, "but...we don't expect you to do anything else...you don't have to go...you don't have to stay. Do what you will. It's your decision."

"Yeah…" muttered Buffy.

After a few moments, Remus saw her eyes become more focused.

"What do you want to do now then?" he finally asked.

Buffy turned to him sadly.

"I want to…live."

"Then live."

* * *

Buffy, Willow, Xander, Giles, Dawn and Andrew stood in the doorway of number twelve Grimmauld Place. It was decided. They were going to Cleveland. To live.

"It's been wonderful meeting you…" Dawn hugged Harry, Ron, Hermione, Fred, George and Ginny, "I'll write to you at Hogwarts…OK?" They each nodded before hugging once more. A final goodbye.

"Thank you ever so much dears…" Mrs. Weasley hugged each of the Scoobies, Mr. Weasley and Bill shaking their hands. Andrew lingered when he got to Arthur Weasley, for the man had been so kind to him...

"Erm…Mr. Weasley…here…" Andrew handed Mr. Weasley his prized GameBoy, which he'd kept hidden from all. Mr. Weasley looked dumbfounded, but couldn't stop thanking Andrew. Fred and George stepped forward.

"Sorry about the elf head Andy…"

"Yeah…you can take it home if you want…"

"George! Fred!"

"Sorry Mum…"

"Just a suggestion."

Xander stood a little way off with Tonks. He smiled warmly at her.

"It's been so great…thanks for everything…" he gulped. When did saying goodbye ever get this hard?

"Yeah…"

Without thinking, Xander leant forward and kissed her softly on her lips. Stunned…the two kissed for a few seconds before breaking away grinning sheepishly.

"Keep in touch?" she asked.

"Definitely."

Harry turned to Willow, smiling.

"Thank you." He mouthed at her silently. Smiling back, Willow just shook her head.

"No problem."

The last two to say goodbye were Remus and Sirius.

"You're all…we can't thank you enough. Ever. If you ever need anything…"

"We'll give you a call…" Buffy interrupted Remus and they grinned, hugging goodbye.

Hugging Buffy, Sirius whispered into her ear…

"I hope you find what you're looking for."

Buffy stepped away, gulped, and nodded to him.

Willow hugged Lupin tightly...

"Thank you so much Willow. For everything you did."

"No. Thank _you_ Remus. It was nothing. Really."

Finally, the readheaded Wicca turned to Sirius Black, who smiled at her. A hug was all they needed to translate the mutual bond that they would always have.

The Scoobies headed outside to where Bill was waiting in a car with Moody to take them to the airport again. It was as if time was replaying itself, only backwards. The group drove off into the morning sunlight…ready to head to where they would next call home…the hellmouth in Cleveland…

Buffy looked back frowning…for something did not feel right…

It was then she realised it was because she had no real mission anymore. She'd always had a goal…she recognised the feeling from when she had stood over the crater that was now Sunnydale…she was free…to live.

Willow closed her eyes as they sped through the streets of London. She was also free. Free of the ghosts that haunted her past. Tara had helped her. She'd decided not to divulge this information, and she knew that Sirius would not say anything. Tara had said it didn't matter. What she'd done...she said she loved her. Because of Sirius Black, Willow knew that she'd managed to do one thing, which she had been denied last time…to say her final farewell to Tara.


End file.
